Hana Monogatari: Flower Tale
by HalKJAkiko
Summary: RuHana. AU. ARC II: Hana Maizou. Hanamichi was transported to a totally new world and he learnt of many shocking news about himself. He is a... what?
1. Arc I: Prelude

**Hana Monogatari – Flower Tale (****花物语****)**

**Arc I: Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

By Hal

**Prelude**

_When the moonlight falls on my face_

_I'll be changing my looks soon_

_A soup by the name of heartache_

_Upon drinking, miraculous powers I gained_

_Close my eyes and I see heaven_

_A place where your smile is hidden_

_I dodged those hunters' guns_

_Chasing away the sorrows _

_Crawling out from the grave_

_For you, I took on a werewolf look_

_For you, I contracted "madness"_

_For you, I wore heavy disguises_

_For you, I changed my tempers_

_Are we able to meet again?_

_For thousands of years, I begged Buddha_

_I'm willing to use a few of my lifetimes_

_In exchange for a lifetime of love_

_I wish to move the heaven with this_

_Can we, can we meet again?_

_For thousands of years, I begged Buddha_

_Before I cross this Lethe_

_Let me kiss your face once more_

_Let me Kiss your face once more… (1)_

Buddha is full of love and kindness to the mortal world, so we should celebrate his birthday. It is a joyous day called "Hana Matsuri"(2). A festive of flowers, a celebration of spring, a memorial of the birth of Buddha. In this beautiful festival where all flowers bloom, the most enchanting is none other than… Sakura.

* * *

(1) This poem is a translation of lyrics of a Chinese song called **Qiu Fo **(Begging Buddha) sang by **Shi Yan**. Poorly translated, pardon me.

(2) Hana Matsuri means Flower Festival, it is on the 8th April every year in Japan and it is to celebrate Buddha's birthday. The reason why it's called Hana Matsuri is because it happens at a time in Spring when almost all flowers are blooming.

**Author's Note:** After disappearing for 2 years, I am back to writing fanfics. I have some time on hand, and some muses in my head, so here I am again. It will be a long fic, at least I have planned it to be so. My plan is that this story will have 3 arcs. Each arc may be of different number of chapters. Everything's still in my head swimming around, nothing's concrete. . But I have gotten the names of the Arcs down. Haha. Hana Matsuri (Flower Festival), Hana Maizou (Flower Burial) and Hana Tamashii (Flower Soul).

Not sure if my writing style has changed or not, but I would say I am heavily influenced by all the Chinese BL novels I have read so far. This will be a big project for me because of the complication of plots and stuff. .

I will update slowly because I am lazy. (Don't throw stones at me!) And this will be a RuHana fanfic, a happy one too. So please give me your supports. Thank you!


	2. Arc I: Chapter 1

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel is purely original. No literature work nowadays are purely original, we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**Chapter 1: Nice to Meet You**

Throwing the duffle bag over his shoulder, the boy rang the bell before shoving his hand into his jeans pocket. He shuffled his feet as he observed the house. It was a typical looking two-storey bungalow. One could see this type of houses anywhere in Japan. Nothing was out of the ordinary, if one could ignore that strange looking marking on the door, or those rather eccentric carvings on the pillars at the porch. These patterns seem to be on almost every part of the house. The boy could not pinpoint what exactly is wrong with these curly patterns, but they just felt un-Japan-ish, or rather, unearthly. Yes, other than the oddly out of place designs, the house looked normal enough.

"Che, I bet the owner is just as creepy," trying to rub away the goose bumps on his arms, the red-headed boy decided to start disliking the owner right away. He never had the intention to like the owner anyway. Who would like someone who had just "bought" you off from your best friend?

"Grr… buy…Argh! I'm not a thing or an animal… to think Youhei use the word BUY! Ahh! It's irritating!" To make his situation worse, the wind started blowing and he shivered in his thin white shirt. It was December, so the early winter climate had settled in and the temperature was getting chillier by the day. He had been standing like an idiot on the porch for five minutes and the door had not had the slightest hint of cracking open a single inch.

"What the!" Getting impatient, he ran his hand through his red hair just as his cell phone rang at the moment.

"Youhei. Yar. I'm here already. No, I didn't do anything stupid yet… hey wait! I never do anything stupid anyway."

Paused. Rolling his eyes, he turned to lean against the door.

"I'm telling you I'm leaving already ok! The bloody door didn't even open! Are you sure that old man's home? What…? Not an old man? Whatever, I don't give a damn about his age. The problem is that I've been standing here for hours and I haven't seen anyone. If he needs a statue, get one, not me. I know he won't be able to find something as handsome as me but… huh? No, I'm not exaggerating…ok, fine! I was here for only five minutes. But that's not the point, I'm telling yooou… ouuufff! Ouch…" The red head blinked hard, wind knocked out of him, staring at the ceiling. He had just landed on his back.

"Hana? Hana? Are you ok?" A muffled sound came from the speaker of his cell phone. Youhei was still on the phone and he heard the unusual noise his friend had made.

"Huh? Oh yar," still on the floor, the boy spoke into the phone. "Yar, I'm alright. The door opened and I fell. I'm fine, really. I'll call you back later. Bye."

"Sorry, I didn't know I'll be receiving a crashing person," a voice with a hint of laughter floated from above. "If not, I would have prepared my arms to catch you."

Irritated by the person's teasing and starting to dislike the owner more, the red hair boy kept quiet, stood up and brushed some dust off his jeans. Then, he just cocked his head and stared at the owner of the voice.

He was a boy not much older than the red hair boy. Tall and lean with a head of gravity-defying spiked up hair, he was fair with blue eyes, unusual for Japanese. His eyes seemed to twinkle even though the sun was not shining at him and a smile was tugging at the corner of his nicely-shaped lips. He had the looks that girls would drool over and guys would die for.

"Hello, are you alright?" The spiky hair boy waved his hand in front of the other boy, his perfectly-shaped brows knitted together.

"Ugh. Yar, I'm ok."

"Phew. I thought you were knocked silly from the fall. Anyway, you must be Sakuragi Hanamichi, right? I'm Sendoh Akira. Nice to meet you." His lips curled into a dazzling smile and held out a hand.

"Yup, I'm Hanamichi. Ermz… nice to meet you too, Sen…Sendoh-san," Uncomfortable with the formality, Hanamichi took Sendoh's hand in his own nervously, giving a small shake before letting go quickly. He could not help but to notice how elegant and long Sendoh's fingers were, just like a pianist's fingers would be. Upon realizing how he was staring at the other person's fingers, Hanamichi blushed slightly and quickly averted his gaze.

"Called me Akira will do," Sendoh chuckled upon spotting a hint of pink on the younger boy's cheeks. "Please come into the house."

The house looked bigger than it seemed from outside. Maybe it was due to the multiple large mirrors on the different panels of the walls. Sendoh showed him around the house quickly. The living room, the dining room with the small bar and the kitchen were on the first storey. Taking the wooden polished stairs up, there were three bedrooms each with a bathroom attached and a study with a large bookshelf. The storage room was located up in the attic, or rather, the whole attic was the storage room. The house was designed simply and elegantly, revolving around the theme of classic black and white, though white was the majority.

Sendoh left Hanamichi to unpack and freshen up in his room, the third one from the stairs. They would be meeting again in half an hour's time to discuss about his job. Hanamichi gritted his teeth when he thought of the contract Youhei had signed.

"What's there to discuss about house cleaning? Che! I'm gonna kill Youhei when I meet him. Fancy asking the Tensai to be a maid! He has betrayed his best friend. I trusted him and he actually sold me off as a maid to this old man and his son." The self-proclaimed tensai grabbed his clothes out of his duffle bag and threw them angrily into the wardrobe beside the door. The bedroom could be described as big, no, it was large for a "maid's" living quarter. The wardrobe was white with those strange patterns carved on it, it spanned across half of the wall. The carvings appeared on the bedposts of the queen-sized bed and the small table and chair beside the bed as well. The bed was placed against the wall on the left side of the room. On the right side of the room was the door to the attached toilet. A large window was on the wall facing the door of the room and it let in a generous amount of light and wind.

Hanamichi was rather satisfied with this room arrangement. At least he was not treated like a maid, yet. He quickly washed his face and went down to the living room. Sendoh was already there, sipping a cup of tea.

"Sendoh-san," Hanamichi greeted unwillingly. 'Porcupine!' He thought to himself.

"I said to call me Akira will do," Sendoh gestured for Hanamichi to sit down.

"A…Akira," Hanamichi sat down on the sofa facing Sendoh, all the while calling "Porcupine" in his head.

"I believe Youhei has told you of your position in this house."

"Position? If you mean my job, yar. He said I'm to be a maid of the owner."

"Maid…Hmm… It's not exactly correct," Sendoh smiled that heart melting smile again. Hanamichi only felt a chill running down his spine, that smile was a dangerous one.

"Your position is to be a houseboy (1)," he crossed his legs and sipped at his tea again.

"Houseboy?" Hanamichi had never heard of such a term.

"Yes, you are my houseboy. You will clean the house and cook my meals for me daily. I'm not a picky person, so I'm rather easy to serve. In return, you get a place to live."

'…What difference is there from a maid?' Hanamichi thought to himself. 'I knew he's a weirdo. I bet he likes to torture his maid too. Easy to serve, tsk! I don't believe him.'

"What about your father, do I have to serve him too?"

"My father? Hahaha," Sendoh laughed uncontrollably, his laughter was manly but yet, sounded like the chimes of the bells. "My dear Hana - please allow me to call you Hana – I live alone."

"Alone?! But… but… Youhei said I'm going to be a maid for an old man. You are not old!" Hanamichi sputtered.

"I believe Youhei was just teasing you. I am only 20 after all." Sendoh reached across the sofa and ruffled Hanamichi's soft hair.

"Don't do that! I'm not a dog!" Hanamichi pulled at Sendoh's hand and edged further away from the raven hair boy.

"Ok ok. Don't get agitated, I promise not to do that until you are ok with it," Sendoh withdrew his hand and laughed quietly.

"That stupid Youhei! He cheated the Tensai again! I'm going to beat him to pulps when I meet him again," Hanamichi balled his right hand into a fist and banged on the low table in front of him. The cup of tea that was meant for him clattered noisily on the saucer but did not topple or spill.

"Oh, Hana. One more thing about being my houseboy is that you will be my sex slave."

* * *

**(1)** Houseboy: A House Boy is a boy that is looking for a position, or career, with love. A houseboy can start at age of 18 years old. The house boy might be the housekeeper, assistant, chief, and many more duties. Houseboy would serve as assistant and some even grow into a life long relationship with their employers. For some that is taboo. Many stable couples today will take in a Houseboy for the household duties and to mentor. This is taken from HouseboyUSA

Sendoh's idea of a houseboy here is more like the one described in the above with a sexual relationship. I have read of such "jobs" existing in various countries.

**Author's Note: **Ok, not beta-d. Rushed. Pardon if it sounds childish and such. Please do continue or start to support me. Thank you! -love- Next update is… I don't know when.


	3. Arc I: Chapter 2

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel is purely original. No literature work nowadays are purely original, we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

Juliakaze-san: Thanks dear for willing to follow this story. I'm touched that you actually put story alert on this. I hope this chapter is not disappointing. I will work hard!

Amanda-san: Thank you for your compliment. I will make sure it gets more interesting. You are my first reviewer, I really appreciate it. At least I know someone is reading what I'm writing. Thank you once again.

**Chapter 2: Houseboy**

"_Nani?(1)_" Hanamichi shot up from his seat, face flushed red of anger, or maybe embarrassment, and his honey brown eyes gleamed with fury. "You perverted hedgehog! You sick bastard! You…you… _hentai_ (2)! I'm not going to be a… a… s…sex… sla…ve!" the red hair stammered on that scandalous phrase and gulped hard before going back to hurling insults. His tanned skin now so red that it could have bled. The innocent mind of his had probably short-circuited at the mention of "sex" because he had yet to resort to his usual feat of violence.

Sendoh elegantly crossed his legs and sank deeper into the comfort of his warm leather couch. The megawatt trademark smile of his was still plastered on his well-defined face (Hanamichi shouted, a shaking finger pointing at the other's nose, "Take that freaky lecherous smile off your face!") as he listened to the repetitive name-callings. Sendoh's arms curled around his midriff tighter by the second and the corner of those fine lips were twitching ever so slightly.

"Ahahaha…" Sendoh burst out in laughter, successfully stunning Hanamichi into stopping in mid sentence. The fair boy clutched his stomach, withdrew his long legs towards his body and fell sideway onto the couch. "Oh, I can't hold it in any longer. Hahaha. Youhei…haha, was right. You are… haha…I'm...haha…hentai... oh…" He whizzed as he tried to catch his breathes but failed as he was overcame with another fit of laughter and started to roll on the couch.

"Hey, so you are not only a pervert but also a madman? Or is it that the _Tensai_'s (3) words knocked some sense into you, huh?" Hanamichi said smugly but in no time, he started to frown. "Oi, stop laughing! You think the Tensai's funny? Let me tell you the power of the…"

Sendoh had now stood up and he pounced on the tanned boy onto the floor, cutting Hanamichi's blabbering off.

"Waaaah! What are you doing? Get off me!" Hanamichi roared into Sendoh's ears.

"I don't want to," Sendoh's face split into a grin. He was definitely enjoying this a lot, and stole a pinch at Hanamichi's muscular waist. The body in his arms was beautiful – there was not a single bit of extra meat anywhere. The toned muscles beneath the supple soft skin promised of power, strength and potential. Just as his smile was about to widen upon hearing a yup from the tan boy, a head-splitting pain seared through his forehead, crumpling his handsome face.

"_Itai_ (4), itai, itai…" he rubbed his bruised forehead and winced, "Hana…"

The attacker had now wriggled out of his grasp and stood tall upon him, his childish features displayed a naïve smug look. "Nyahaha! How does my headbutt taste? The Tensai's head is made of steel, not what a commoner like you can endure."

'Headbutt, steel, commoner,' Sendoh sweatdropped. Oblivious to the expression of the boy on the floor, Hanamichi continued to speak at the top of his voice. "Hmph, a hentai like you needs to be punished. I don't care if you are employing me or not, because I quit! I'm not working for a hentai. I will teach you a lesson today so that you don't go harming other people. Count yourself unlucky to have met me!"

The raven hair boy sprang to his feet and leapt over the couch. He had seen the seriousness in the other boy's eyes. Those burning eyes and bone-cracking sounds coming from those powerful fists were indeed scary.

"Wait!" He yelled from his area of refuge, with the couch as the only protection from the red mane lion that seemed to be bursting of power and ready to pounce at any moment.

"I'm sorry for pissing you off, ok?" Sendoh raised two hands. "Peace. Youhei said you're cute so I decided to have some fun first…"

"_Matte yo (_5)!" Hanamichi help up a hand firmly. "Youhei said I'm what?!"

"Cute," Sendoh replied graciously but quickly added, "But now I know you are full of charm. You are the manliest man I've seen." Sincerity shone in his eyes and he looked genuinely impressed. He might well be awarded Oscar's Best Actor Award for his performance. But any clever man would put on some kind of act in this situation; no one in the right mind would further provoke the boy who was now gritting his teeth. Sendoh, been thoroughly warned by Youhei of Hanamichi's "superiority in affairs of physical violence", likewise sought to appease the raging fire burning in Hanamichi.

"Che, of course. _Ore wa Tensai desu_ (6)!" Hanamichi proudly declared this rather unrelated trait, his anger clearly dissipated into thin air as he laughed boisterously.

"Hai hai. Tensai-san, let us sit down and talk like men should, ok?" Sendoh took the chance and suggested.

With both of them seated seriously again on the couch, Sendoh went back to sip his tea after making sure that all strands of his gorgeous hair were still standing up in their fullest glory.

"Before any further discussion, I want to make this very clear. I don't care why Youhei has a friend like you, but I'm not doing anything beneath my dignity," Hanamichi spoke, with a seriousness that seemed strange coming from him but oddly attractive at the same time.

"Of course, I wasn't serious about the sex slave thing just now," Sendoh said smilingly. 'But I would love to make you one now,' the charming boy thought to himself as he watched the pinkness creeping up Hanamichi's ears.

"You are an orphan. Your mother died giving birth to you. Your father died when you were twelve. Your met your best friend, Mito Youhei, eight years ago and he is the only person you trust now. You have three other close friends who called themselves Sakuragi Guntai because you are the leader among them for your superior fighting skills. A month ago, unknown people started attacking you for no reasons. All the attacks were aimed at killing you but Youhei and you had blocked them off all the time. I would say they have underestimated you two," as he stretched his neck to drink the last drop of tea, Sendoh looked at Hanamichi through slits of eyes.

"Who are you?" Hanamichi's eyebrows drew together into a deep frown.

"Don't frown, you'll get wrinkles," Sendoh commented. "I'm not a stalker if that's what you are thinking of now. Why do you think Youhei would suddenly send you to me?"

"I don't know."

"Do you trust Youhei?"

Hanamichi nodded.

"Do you trust his decisions and the people he trusts?"

Another nod.

"Alright, listen up then. The reason Youhei sent you to me is because he trusts me to protect you from what is happening now," Sendoh leaned forward, his upper body over the low table between them, and looked straight into Hanamichi's brown bright eyes.

"I don't need…" Hanamichi started.

"No, you do. Trust Youhei," Sendoh retorted. "The situation will get worse. Whoever is out to kill you will be sending their next killer soon. He will be a very difficult person to deal with and I am the only one who can protect you from him now."

"I'm the Tensai, I can…" Hanamichi started again.

"You can't. The next person who is coming is not what a Tensai can deal with. Trust me, trust Youhei. When the time comes we will tell you everything, but for now, please just stay here for Youhei's sake," Sendoh sighed and softened his voice.

Hanamichi swallowed some saliva. Youhei was always right so he will trust him. This hedgehog in front of him was a strange person, but since Youhei trusted him, then he must be a very powerful person as well. All these "killers" that had attacked him, he did not know any of them. He did not know why or who would want him dead so badly. He had no money nor had he make any enemies, at least not someone who had this kind of authority.

Every time he got attacked, Youhei would appear to help him. Though he could have deal with them himself, he knew, deep in his heart, these attackers were professional fighters and he would not be so lucky every time to escape alive without Youhei's help. Youhei had done a lot for him and this time with the "killers", he was obviously very much more troubled. If staying at Sendoh's place would lessen the burden on Youhei's shoulders, then Hanamichi would stay.

"Ok, I'm staying here for Youhei's sake," Hanamichi gave in. "I know you and Youhei know what is going on. Youhei won't tell me a single thing but I know he knows. You know too, but I won't beg you to tell me. I will find out myself. I will also not stay at your place for free. I have no money, but I will be your 'houseboy' or whatever you called it. You are hiring one right? So I will do the housework and cook in return for your favour. What's that look on your face for? The Tensai CAN cook and do housework! I've been doing it since _Oyaji_(7)…since six years ago!"

"Pardon my poor hearing, but did I just hear a sniffle from you?" Sendoh asked "innocently". "Ok ok! Ahh, don't strangle me! Let go let go! Phew. I'm your boss, it's wrong to attempt to kill me. Since you are my houseboy now, would you please help me get some ointment to rub on my bruised forehead and my neck? I got manhandled by someone just now," he grinned.

"Che, you deserved it," Hanamichi pouted but got up to get the ointment. He was under someone else's roof now after all.

"It's in the first aid kit in my bathroom. My room is the one next to yours!" Sendoh shouted into the kitchen where Hanamichi had gone into. His grin widened, causing his eyes to reduce to long slits.

"Time to report success to Youhei."

* * *

1) _Nani_: What

2)_ Hentai_: Pervert

3)_ Tensai_: Genius

4)_ Itai_: Pain/It hurts

5)_ Matte yo_: Wait/Hold on

6)_ Ore wa Tensai desu_: I am a Genius

7)_ Oyaji_: an informal word meaning "dad

* * *

A/N: Next chapter should be coming soon… I think. Mistakes in grammar? Weird symbols appearing? Tell me! Review please! -runs away-


	4. Arc I: Chapter 3

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel is purely original. No literature work nowadays are purely original, we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**Kanon-Canon - 50-50 –:** Oh, I've listened to Catch Me already, seems like something Sendoh will do, or Rukawa. They are both the type to do that. Hahaha. But oh well, more development of the plot first!

**Tensai11: **Thanks for the comment on the grammar. As for the usage of "yea", it's my own habit. . I will take note. Thank you!

**Rockynboromir: **Hmm… It's a little SenHana… but… . Haha. Thanks for your support though.

**All readers: **Gomen ne, another filler chapter… hohoho. Really busy with things (excuses…) such as work, cosplay and interviews. Darn. I can't even have time to sit down to think through the story properly. x I've re-wrote this chapter's first few chapters more than three times.

**NOTE: **I changed the time frame to early winter in Chapter 1it used to be early autumn because I realized I made a mistake when calculating the time needed for progress of the story. Hontou gomen nasai! Also, I deleted the original chapter 1 and re-upload a new chapter 1 instead of replacing it so I guess the reviews for chapter 1 are gone. I'm so sorry. x

**Chapter 3: Hanamichi Asked**

It was slightly more than a week to Christmas and Sakuragi Hanamichi had been living with Sendoh Akira for about two weeks now.

Hanamichi knew little about this young man who was housing him because when Sendoh Akira was around, he always distracted Hanamichi with all his flirting. That made the innocent red head forget all the questions he wanted to ask Sendoh. When he finally remembered again, Sendoh was either out of the house or was "working" in his room. Ever since Hanamichi had moved in, he knew that Sendoh was always working to help him with his situation right now. He did not seem to have any other job but how he was able to afford this house and all their living expenses, Hanamichi did not know. Youhei could not have probably paid Sendoh because he was only doing a part time job.

Hanamichi had not seen Youhei ever since he came to Sendoh's place to stay. Both Sendoh and Youhei thought that it would be best if Youhei did not come to visit, in case someone was following him. He was Hanamichi's best friend after all. Nor had Hanamichi been allowed out of the house so as to minimize the chances of being spotted. Red hair was rare in Japan and would be easy to catch unnecessary attentions. So, other than household chores and cooking (grocery shopping excluded too), Hanamichi had practically nothing to do. He was screaming with boredom after three days of such life and became significantly more violent. Treasuring his life, Sendoh Akira finally agreed to let Hanamichi play basketball at the court behind the house. Even though Hanamichi had spent the first three days exploring inside and around the house, Hanamichi had never noticed there was a court until Sendoh mentioned it that day. It seemed as if the brunette had conjured up the court out of no where.

For all the strange things that Sendoh Akira was, Hanamichi could not deny that he was indeed a nice person. (It would be nicer if Sendoh would just stop wining the one-on-one basketball matches that they sometimes had. Hanamichi was seriously annoyed with Sendoh for playing basketball better than him.) He was easy-going and friendly, always making Hanamichi feel at home and had never once asked him to do something he did not want to. At the thought of this, the image of Sendoh hugging him and licking his right ear while he was washing the dishes last night popped into Hanamichi's head. Hanamichi's face turned beet red. Throwing down the chopsticks he was using to arrange the teriyaki chicken on the plate, he flayed his arms above his head fiercely, in an attempt to wave away the image in his head.

"_Teme!(1)_ Of all things, I have to remember that. That sick perverted hedgehog. &!#&," more gibberish came out of Hanamichi's mouth as he remembered yet another incident of Sendoh slipping his hands underneath his sweater. Stomping up the stairs, red hair seemingly ablaze in the air, he kicked open the second door from the staircase landing, the door that belonged to Sendoh Akira's bedroom.

"Get the hell up, you bastard!" Hanamichi crashed through the poor tortured door. "Wake up wake up!"

In one quick motion, he pulled the blanket off the lump on the bed, successfully exposing the sleeping form to the chilly winter air.

"Hmm… another five minutes," the raven hair young man mumbled as he rolled to the other side of the bed and attempted to pull up the currently non-existing blanket. Another second later, his body "graciously" met the floor with perfect intimacy. He was immediately awake as coldness stung his naked back, causing him to spring up to his feet. Standing tall at 1.91m, Sendoh faced the raging red hair boy in his room.

"How may I be of help to you so early in the morning, my Hana dear? A hand job, perhaps?" Sendoh smiled and gracefully ran his long fingers through his locks of hair that were not spiked up yet.

"…" a vein popped on Hanamichi's forehead. Balling his hands into tight fists and repressing the urge to punch the person in front of him, he said through gritted teeth, "no thank you. Just come down for breakfast already."

"Why are you so annoyed this early in the morning, Hana?" Sendoh frowned.

"I'm not," the younger boy shot back.

"Let's see. Is it sexual frustration?" the taller man asked, trying to sound innocent.

"NO! I said I'm not annoyed already, which part of it do you not understand?" Hanamichi said loudly with a very red and hot face. "And it's not early in the morning; it's ten for your information."

Sendoh winced at the slight ringing in his ears from the loud voice of Hanamichi's. "It's already ten? Oh my god, I have so many things to do today! You should have waked me up earlier!"

"Well, it's not my fault you didn't want to wake up. I did tried at seven but you did not respond at all," Hanamichi crossed his arms and his lips went into a small pout without himself realizing.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Guess I was in a deep sleep. I didn't mean to blame you at all. I only got to sleep at three plus this morning. The next killer is tough as expected. Last night was of no avail as well. I'm sorry that I'm not helping much," Sendoh sighed and sat down on his bed. He rubbed his temples and his eyebrows drew into a knit.

'_He looked like shit lately. The dark eye circles are getting worse. He's really doing a lot to help me…' _Hanamichi felt guilty and useless at the same time. Neither Sendoh nor Youhei would let him into what they were doing and they did not tell him about anything at all. He walked away from Sendoh and stopped at the doorway. Without turning his head, he said, "Thanks. Please come down for breakfast when you are ready." With that, he walked off quickly, closing the door behind him.

Sendoh stared at the closed door, it was rare for Hanamichi to be this soft and polite to him. Smiling to himself, he saw in his head as he closed his eyes the images of Hanamichi at different activities. Cooking, washing up, doing laundry, playing basketball, falling asleep on the sofa, blushing… Everything about Hanamichi had a pink and warm aura around it.

"You're so cute. I think I'm really falling for you, Hana… But…" Sendoh spoke quietly to the air in front of him. _'But can I? I somehow know that we are impossible.' _He completed in his mind, Sendoh could not bring himself to say this aloud.

* * *

Hanamichi sat quietly at the breakfast table after setting up the table quickly. Someone out there wanted him dead and he did not know who. Nor was he doing anything to find out. He was not allowed to be involved. Youhei and Sendoh knew something but they were not saying. It was tempting for Hanamichi to do something like going out and hunt down the killer himself, but where could he start? Not to mention if he did that, Youhei would be very angry and worried. Hanamichi did not want to create any more trouble for Youhei, who was not only his best friend but his "father" of some sort.

"This cannot go on. I must do something. I am the target after all," he chewed on his lower lip and pulled at his red locks. "I cannot just sit here and wait for people to protect me. First step will be to interrogate that hentai. I know he know a lot. I will start off with something casual and keep my distance from him. I will not let him distract me this time. Yosh! Ore wa Tensai desu! I can do it!" Hanamichi punch a fist in the air as he grinned at his own plan.

"Do what?" Sendoh appeared behind his chair, startling Hanamichi into jumping out of the chair.

"Waaah, don't sneak up on other people!" Hanamichi huffed and sat back down on the chair. "Sit down and eat your breakfast. It's teriyaki chicken with rice and miso soup."

"Great! I love the Japanese food you made, Hana," Sendoh rubbed his hands as he took a seat at the table. He was sure that Hanamichi was up to something because the red head would not look directly at him and the tips of his ears were red. Those were signs of him hiding some thing or telling lies. Sendoh had noticed that for a while now.

"Erm… _Anou(2)_…" Hanamichi paused in the middle of a bite. He chewed on his chopsticks and pondered on how to start the conversation.

"Yes?"

"Akira, what is your job? I mean like, what do you do as a living?"

"Well…"

"If you don't want to answer, that's ok!" Hanamichi felt like slapping himself for blurting that out. He needed to get Sendoh to talk, it would not help at all if he personally told that it was ok for Sendoh to not say anything.

"No, just that it's rather hard for me to explain my job," Sendoh put down his chopsticks and rested his chin on his hands which were propped up on the elbows. "You can say that I work for a government."

"EHH?! Really?" Hanamichi stared wide-eyed at Sendoh. "You are only 20 right? And you work for the government? You must be really smart then."

"Yes, it is a little young to work for the government even at the place from where I come from."

"You are not Japanese? But your Japanese is really good, I can't tell."

"I did my best to learn the language, haha," Sendoh smiled.

"So what are you doing in Japan?" Hanamichi probed further.

"To… protect you."

"What?" Hanamichi was again shocked. "You came to Japan just for that? Why would you do that? I don't know you nor do you know me two weeks ago! How on earth did Youhei get to know you? Who are you exactly? What is going on? Everything seems to be so complicated!"

"Hana," Sendoh spoke slowly. "I know things are complicated but I urge you to stay calm and please know that I will do whatever to protect you. Leave it to Youhei and I. We will tell you when time comes."

"When the time comes? So when is that? You never gave me any clear and concrete indication. Look, Sendoh Akira," Hanamichi said firmly. "I am the one they want to kill, I have to right to know why. You know the answer, so tell me. Since you are protecting me, let me know what is going on so that if anything happens, I know how to react. You will tell me right?"

"I…" For the first time, Sendoh was at lost for words.

"Please, Akira," Hanamichi looked at him straight in the eyes, eagerness and curiosity burning.

"I can't," Sendoh sighed. "I'm not in the position to tell you. It's far more complicated than I can tell you verbally. It's too hard… and… this is not the right place…"

"So you can't tell me?" the red head sat in his seat, dejected. "Who can? Youhei? Let me speak to Youhei then."

"No, Youhei can't either. The person who can tell you… you will only be able to meet him four months from now."

"Four MONTHS?" Hanamichi repeated unbelievably. "I would probably die a couple of times by then."

"Don't say that," Sendoh reprimanded. "I won't allow that. Don't you trust me? Don't you trust Youhei?"

"I…" Hanamichi bit his lower lip again. "I don't know. I guess I do… but you are not telling me anything."

"It's to protect you," Sendoh said. "I know it's hard to not know what is going on. But I promise that it is for the best."

"Okay," Hanamichi sighed. He could not explain it but there was something in Sendoh's voice that made him place his faith in this spiky-hair boy.

* * *

(1)_ Teme_: Damn

(2)_ Anou_: Well… (as some kind of prompt to start a question)

**A/N:** Yes, I entitle you the rights to kill me. I made this chapter slightly longer (300 words more- than the previous ones as a compensation to all those waiting. But it's still a filler chapter after all... and... pardon the stupid title. I can't think of any for filler chapters. I will make no promises for the next chapter except that Rukawa is making his appearance. –digs hole and hides-


	5. Arc I: Chapter 4

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel is purely original. No literature work nowadays are purely original, we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

* * *

**Amanda: **Thanks! –bows- -gives cookies-

**Mikage Ceres: **Thanks dearie for your comment. blush blush I will work hard! -gives chocolate-

**- Kanon-Canon - 50-50 -: **Oops, sorry for typing the song title wrongly. I'm glad that my fic is entertaining to you. Thank you for your support! -hands you lollipop-

**Lenin****：**I hope to make Hanamichi more lovable. XD And still retains his manliness? Now that sounds hard. x

**Blue Cat: **Yar, I abandoned my story, 'Heart', for 2 years already? Oh wait… last updated is 9-14-04. OMG, that's almost 4 years. Ok, they have a right to think I'm dead. But Hana Monotagari, I will continue. It's always on my mind.

**All those who put story alerts: **Thanks. Appreciate that and I will GANBATTE

**A/N: **I realize I called Youhei and Hanamichi by their first names and Sendoh and the rest by their last names. Sorry, it's just a habit of calling them by these names. And oh, I lost my whole notebook on which I wrote the manuscript for this fic. I think I left it at my workplace. I hope they don't open up and read it. -Got back my book already- My handwriting's so messy that they can't comprehend. Haha.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Trap**

"_Moshi moshi_(1)," Youhei picked up his cell phone. "Ah yes, Sendoh. How are you getting along with it?"

"Not good, I can't track him," came the reply.

"I can't too," Youhei sighed. "He's good at covering his tracks."

"Well, it's HIM after all, we can't expect any lesser," Sendoh stated.

"I know. Sometimes I wonder if he even came here after all," Youhei replied.

"Akagi can't be wrong with his information," Sendoh said. "Do you think he know your real identity? You know what I mean."

"Maybe, but I doubt so. No one outside the _Ring_(2) knows after all. Unless you are saying someone tells on us…"

"No. I have never distrusted the loyalty of the Ring."

"Of course," Youhei sat down on his sofa. "So what do you propose now? We cannot let this drag on any longer. We need to find him. We are at a disadvantage with him in the dark."

"Youhei," Sendoh's voice sounded a little different over the phone. "I have a plan but I'm not sure if you are up for it."

"What?"

"We need to get him to come out of the dark himself."

"How?"

"We will make him come look for us."

"You mean…?"

"Yes, I am using Hanamichi as a bait. I have already put up…"

"Are you crazy? It's too risky!" Youhei barked into the speaker.

"Listen, do you want him out of the dark?" Sendoh spoke quickly but quietly into the phone. He did not want Hanamichi to hear him from outside his bedroom door.

"Yes, but not at the risk of Hanamichi's life! It defeats the purpose, doesn't it?" Youhei asked.

"It will not defeat the purpose if Hanamichi's life is saved, right?" Sendoh asked back.

"Che!" Youhei pressed his lips together. "So what exactly is your plan?"

"I've put up an ad in the papers stating that I have a room for rent for males. Only condition is that he must live with a red hair teenager. I'm sure he will come knocking on my door soon."

"SENDOH AKIRA!" Youhei roared into the phone. Sendoh knew that was coming along so he had already placed his phone an arm's length away from his ear. "WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

"Protecting Hana?" Sendoh said innocently, putting the phone back to his ear after confirming that Youhei would not shout again.

"Protecting Hana? With HIM in the house?"

"Well, it's the most direct way…"

"And you went ahead with the plan without discussing with me first," Youhei articulated each word through gritted teeth.

"Ha…ha… Yes I did," Sendoh laughed weakly. Youhei was angry and an angry Youhei would be very hard to deal with.

"Luring him out of the dark is one thing, putting him right in the house which Hanamichi is staying is another! We are talking about that person here, Sendoh! Have you forgotten the _prophecy_(3)? He and Hanamichi are…"

"The prophecy… could have another meaning…" Sendoh said quietly, as if he was depressed.

"What? I can't hear you," Youhei cut in.

"I said I know, that is why I want him in the house," Sendoh regained his composure. "You know I'm the only one here who can prevent him from striking. In my house, he won't be able to attack. I can watch him better in my house than having him roam outside."

"Sendoh…" Youhei could not disagree with Sendoh's ability. "I just hope you know what you are doing. Our… Hanamichi's life is in your hands. We trust you."

"Thank you. Be assured that I wish for no harm to come upon Hana too," Sendoh reassured Youhei. "Now I think it's time for me to contact more agents about the ad to increase exposure."

"Wait, how you know if you are renting the room to the right person? You don't know how he looks like," Youhei stopped Sendoh from hanging up.

"I met him once when he was made the Prince."

"He might be in disguise."

"Mito Youhei," Sendoh said in an unbelievable tone. "Have you been living here for too long? Even though I met him once before but I won't forget his aura. No matter how he well he hides, I can't miss it if he's standing right in front of me. I'm the strongest in my country, after all."

"Oh, right. Right. Be careful then. Bye, say hi to Hanamichi for me," Youhei slapped his forehead for been such a dork.

* * *

"Akira! Someone's at the door, should I get it?" Hanamichi shouted from the living room. The door bell rang again, more impatient this time.

"No, I will get it," Sendoh walked down the stairs.

He took a deep breath and opened all his senses, letting every single one of his pores soak up the air around him as he placed his hand on the door knob. There it was – that small dip in the air just on the opposite side of the door in front of him. The person that was emitting the aura was good at suppressing his existence, very good in fact. Even Sendoh could not deny that it was a feat of the master. An average person might miss this aura and thought the person outside was just a normal person. But Sendoh, being the genius he was, did not miss the small hint. The minute ripples of disturbance in the air hit his pores like waves. The person outside the house now was definitely the one he was looking for.

Suppressing his own aura to the lowest, he turned the door knob and opened the white wooden door. He flashed his trademark smile at the boy in front of him. He looked no older or taller than himself, maybe about the same age and height as Hanamichi. But he was not as well-built as the red hair boy; he's more lean and slender with pale skin that looked almost translucent. His black hair was like Sendoh's, but darker. The darkness made the hair glow a blue tint and seem to absorb the light around him.

The boy looked at him with piercing cold blue eyes as he passed a piece of newspaper cut out to Sendoh with one hand. His other hand was holding a duffle bag.

'_A beauty, but an Ice Prince as they said,'_ Sendoh thought to himself. _'I still prefer a warm-blooded one.' _He took at glanced at Hanamichi who was sitting on the couch watching television at the moment.

"Oh, you are here for the room," Sendoh pretended to be surprised as he looked at the newspaper cut out in his hand. It was the ad he placed on the papers about renting out a room. "Come on in."

The boy gave him a long look as Sendoh continued to smile as if he was happy that someone wanted to rent his room. Upon hearing the door closing, Hanamichi turned his attention away from the television and stopped in the middle of biting an apple when he saw the boy.

"Akira?" Hanamichi cocked his head to one side. He looked cute like that. The new boy in the house frowned at the red head and there was a menacing gleam in his blue eyes. Hanamichi stared back fiercely. He was not afraid of a boy.

"Ahem," Sendoh coughed to break the fiery but silent exchanges going on between the two younger boys. "Hana, this is our new house mate."

"New what?" Hanamichi shot up from the couch.

"_Do'ahou_(4)_,_" the new boy said without any expression.

"_Baka_ _kitsune_(5)!" Hanamichi yelled back as he tried to launch for the Ice Prince.

Sendoh quickly put himself in front of Hanamichi and held him back. Hanamichi struggled in Sendoh's arms and shouting "Let me get at him!" right into Sendoh's ear.

"Hana, calm down. Let's have a proper beginning," Sendoh pressed Hanamichi back onto the couch and gestured the other boy to sit.

"Okay," Sendoh somehow felt like he wanted to sweatdrop at the current situation. The two boys on either side of him seemed like kindergarten children bickering with each other. Except that they were using their eyes instead of their mouth. Hanamichi was crossing his arms and had a small stubborn pout while his opponent just looked expressionlessly back.

"Hana, I am renting out the extra room to…" Sendoh spoke to the still pouting Hanamichi, then realized that he should ask the other boy for his name.

"Oh right, I don't know your name yet," Sendoh chuckled at his own forgetfulness. "May I know your name then? Or maybe a little introduction would be nicer. Tell us about yourself, please."

"Rukawa Kaede," the pale boy said. "Male."

Both Sendoh and Hanamichi waited for more but none came. Sendoh really did sweatdrop this time. Hanamichi rolled his eyes as he leaned back into the couch muttering "kitsune".

'_Don't even bother using an alias, you are really confident, or maybe you knew an alias won't hide anything,'_ the spiky hair boy eyed Rukawa thoughtfully.

"Ah yes, nice to meet you, Rukawa. I'm Sendoh Akira and this is Sakuragi Hanamichi," Sendoh broke out of his thoughts and smiled brightly. "I'm 20, a home-based author and Hana is 19, a student on holiday."

Hanamichi shot Sendoh a look but Sendoh's look was telling him to not say anything, so he shut his half-opened mouth.

"So how old are you, Ruakwa?" Sendoh continued. "What's your occupation? Any particular living preferences you would like us to know so that we won't be in your way or something like that? I want everyone to live happily together."

"19. Don't disturb me when I'm sleeping," Rukawa answered coldly.

"Alright, now let's get you to settle down. Oh, rent will have to be paid by the 7th each month. I will bring you to your room now. Hana, you want to come along?" Sendoh stood up and stretched out a hand to Hanamichi. The red head slapped Sendoh's hand hard but got up too. He hated it when Sendoh treated him like a child. With Rukawa walking behind him, he followed Sendoh up the stairs.

"Rukawa, this is your room," Sendoh opened the first room from the staircase. "I hope you like it."

Hanamichi leaned against the left side of the door frame while Rukawa threw his duffle bag onto the bed and looked around the room.

"Which is his room?" Rukawa pointed at Hanamichi.

"The last one," Sendoh replied.

"Yours?" he turned to look at the taller boy.

"Between yours and his," Sendoh replied again.

"I want your room," Rukawa picked up his bag from the bed and told Sendoh.

"Hey, what's with you?" Hanamichi did not like this pale boy. He had a strange air around him.

"I want the middle room," Rukawa repeated and walked towards the door.

Sendoh frowned. He did not want Rukawa to be closer to Hanamichi than he was. If Rukawa was to stay in the middle room, he could easily sneak into Hanamichi's room without having to walk past Sendoh's room.

"Is there something wrong with this room?" Sendoh tried to change Rukawa's mind.

"I want your room, if not I'm not renting," Rukawa threatened. Sendoh could not have Rukawa walk out of this house just like this now that he knew where Hanamichi was.

"You are too much, kitsune!" Hanamichi stood in front of the boy angrily. Four eyes glared at each other.

"I don't have time for ahou," Rukawa raised his chin slightly and looked at Hanamichi with narrowed eyes.

"Teme!" Hanamichi's face was red with anger. Sendoh quickly put himself between the two and patted Hanamichi's chest to calm him.

"Alright alright, Hana. I'm not angry so you don't have to be angry too. Rukawa, if you want that room, take it. You wait for me in the living room while I pack up and move."

"AKIRA! Why do you give in to him? You are the owner. Let him go, it's not like we are begging him to stay anyway." Hanamichi stared at Sendoh with round eyes while he waved his fist at Rukawa.

"It's okay, Hana, just a change of room, no big deal," Sendoh pushed Hanamichi out of the room, smiling and winking. "Come and help me pack up."

* * *

1. Moshi moshi: Hello

2. Ring: A group of people, as to who they are, wait till Arc II.

3. Prophecy: Arc II will talk about the prophecy. So don't forget about it.

4. Do'ahou: Idiot. (In Tokyo and places near Tokyo, "Baka" can be used for joking purposes while "ahou" is really rude. It's the opposite way in Osaka and areas around there. Kanagawa is nearer to Tokyo.)

5. Baka kitsune: Stupid fox. (Kitsune also means seasoned fried tofu bean curd. LOL.)


	6. Arc I: Chapter 5

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel is purely original. No literature work nowadays are purely original, we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**Mikage ceres: **Yup, Rukawa's the killer. I hope this chapter reveals more and you will stay interested.

**Momiji: **Thank you I'm also sad that there are just so little RuHana fics out there. My writing pace is however…quite disapppointing as well… Haha.

**tensai-hiei: **Yar, poor Sendoh. huggles He's always sacrificed in my work.

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay. A Busy with business and cosplay. Now University is starting soon, so there's a lot to prepare as well. –I missed my medical check up appointment with the school's medical examination hall…-

* * *

**Chapter 5: Night Visit**

After both Sendoh and Rukawa had settled into their new rooms, they started to discuss the sharing of household chores. To Hanamichi's disgust, he found out that since Rukawa Kaede would be paying rental, he did not have to cook or wash the clothes. Only house cleaning would be spread among the three, meals and laundry would still be Hanamichi's chores solely.

Rukawa smirked at the idea which caused Hanamichi to throw a punch at the cool boy's stomach. The two ended up rolling on the floor, punching each other with all their might. Hanamichi had not been fighting for a long time and his blood was singing with joy as he delivered yet another punch at Rukawa's nose. Sendoh took a long time to pull the two apart. He was afraid that Rukawa might hurt Hanamichi if he intended to be serious.

"Akira, why did you stop me?" Hanamichi flared up at Sendoh who pulled Hanamichi off Rukawa. "I'm going to kill this bastard."

"If you get hurt, I will be sad," Sendoh said with a sweet smile.

"_Che_(1)_!_ Ore wa Tensai! I won't get hurt from someone's weak punch," Hanamichi blushed and turned his attention to licking the wound on his forearm like a cat. Rukawa's fingernail had accidentally scratched a cut there and it hurt a lot. The fact that a guy was having sharp fingernails like some girls was annoying Hanamichi and that made him dislike Rukawa further.

"Right, tensai won't get hurt but what's that on your cheek?" Sendoh teased as he brought in the first aid kit. "Rukawa, do you need me to help you with your wounds?"

Rukawa just took some bandages and plasters and went to his room. Sendoh shrugged and made Hanamichi sit down while he knelt in front of him to put some ointment on the bruises and cuts before patching them up with bandages. Luckily Rukawa was just fighting like a teenager. Sendoh scolded himself in his head for not watching out for the fight, if Rukawa had used… Sendoh did not dare to think further. Hanamichi's soft winces were making his heart ache and he frowned at the numerous wounds. If Rukawa had killed Hanamichi, Sendoh knew that he would probably go mad with anger and turn into a killing machine this time.

"Akira?" Hanamichi frowned at the house owner who was spacing out. Was he really sad that he got into a fight? Hanamichi reached out to touch Sendoh on his cheek and called out to Sendoh softly again.

"Akira, I'm sorry."

Sendoh snapped back to his senses at Hanamichi's touch. His eyes shone with a strange light as he held Hanamichi's hand in his own.

"Just know that someone will feel sad when you get hurt," Sendoh smiled gently and hugged Hanamichi. The red head was guilty that he had made Sendoh worried for him so he did not push Sendoh away. Instead, he put his own arms around Sendoh hesitantly.

Rukawa walked into the room and saw the hugging couple. His eyebrows knitted together slightly. There was an unexplainable urge in his heart to pull Sendoh away from the red head. He balled up his fists and his nails were digging into his palm. Realizing this abnormal reaction, he quickly shook his head and forced the anger down. Coughing lightly, he notified the two entwined figure of his presence.

"Oh, kitsune!" Hanamichi blushed hard and quickly pushed Sendoh away as if he was caught doing something wrong. The red head then became aware that he did not owe that "kitsune" anything so there was no need to be so flustered, and he blushed harder as he looked at Sendoh embarrassingly.

Sendoh lowered his eyes and quickly hid the sad look, putting on a big smile when he faced the two younger boys again.

"Now, it's pretty late for Hana to start cooking dinner. I propose we go out for a meal instead," Sendoh stood up and walked towards the stairs. "Take it as a celebration to welcome our new house mate. Now go and put on your coats. We will decide what to have when we are on the car."

"Akira," Hanamichi suddenly said with a serious face, stopping Sendoh in his track. "You sounded like a mother! Hahaha…"

Hanamichi burst into laughter loudly and hugging his tummy. Sendoh ran from the end of the stairs and pounce on Hanamichi.

"Is it that funny?" Sendoh laughed as he tickled Hanamichi's sides. Hanamichi could only nod as he chuckled louder and squirmed on the floor trying to avoid Sendoh's tickling fingers. The whole living room was echoing with the two's laughter and panting sound as one tried to tickle and one tried to avoid.

"BANG!" A loud slam stopped the rolling duo in the middle of their laughter. Rukawa had stomped up to his room and slammed his door shut.

"What's wrong with him?" Hanamichi muttered under his breath.

Sendoh brushed some dust off his pants and pulled Hanamichi up from the floor, "He's probably hungry and got angry that we are not preparing to go. Alright, go and put on a coat, I will meet you at the door."

When both boys were ready, there was still no sign of Rukawa.

"Hana, you want to go and ask Rukawa down? I'll go get the car."

"I… alright then," Hanamichi walked back up the stairs. He knocked on the middle door and waited for a response inside.

"Oi, kitsune!" The red head became impatient and frowned as no one answered the door. "Are you inside? What are you doing? Come out already. Che, you were the one complaining of hunger and now you are not coming out."

Behind the door, Rukawa sat with his back leaning against it, his shoulders drooped. His mind was in a complete mess as he could not sort out his feelings. Or rather, he was confused by the feeling that he was having moments ago. He should not be feeling anything for anyone. He was trained that way, but this pair of boys whom he had only met about an hour ago was affecting him in a way that he could not control. The boy outside the room was beginning to get impatient and threatened to just barge in if he did not open the door in ten seconds. Rukawa frowned, stood up slowly and walked across the room. Like a black leopard, h leapt through the window into the night. He needed to be alone now, he just could not stand seeing the red head together with that annoying landlord again.

When Hanamichi kicked the door open, face red with impatience, all that greeted him was the wind that blew through the ajar window. Rukawa was no where in sight. Patience all gone, Hanamichi stormed down the stairs and shouted to Sendoh that kitsunes should just be left alone. With a shrug and a smile, Sendoh ushered Hanamichi into the car and drove to theJapanese restaurant that he knew the red hair boy will love. His brilliant blue eyes seemed to be darker than usual. Maybe, it was just the night been exceptionally dark.

* * *

A gentle night breeze blew through the window, the light curtain flapped without much of a sound. Bleak moonlight fell on the wooden floor, giving the brown floor a coat of frosty feel. The snoring lump turned in his bed and curled up more under the thick blanket. This December night was strangely colder than usual.

The dark figure near the wardrobe moved closer to the bed. He was stealth and his steps made no noise. It was as if he was a shadow floating in the room. The room was too dark to see his expression but when the curtain flapped due to the wind, a beam of moonlight flashed on his face for a second. It was a cold pale face with determined jaws; his eyes were dark with a hint of blood. He climbed onto the bed, entrapping the sleeping form between his knees as he put his two palms on either sides of the face below him.

He stared, with intensity that burnt, at the face underneath his own now. How could someone sleep with no sense of vigilance, with such an open and innocent face like a baby's? He pondered to himself. _How could this person be…? But his red hair and all the other small details fit in… _Questions rushed through his head as he frowned, gritting his teeth and eyes gleaming redder.

Lifting his right hand and balling it into a fist, his breathes became heavier. But slowly, he relaxed his hand and put it gently back to where it was initially, beside the sleeping face. As if in a trance, he gradually lowered his own face till his nose is almost touching the other's nose. Light as a feather, he brushed his lips against the slightly parted dry lips beneath him.

He jerked lightly like he was shocked by electricity and with a soft suppressed growl; he lifted up his right hand, this time with a ball of blue flames in his palm, as he closed his eyes that had tears gleaming at the corners and slammed down on the sleeping form's chest. Immediately a yellowish glow that was so bright that it was almost white formed some kind of protective shield around the sleeping form and the impact of the shield been activated threw the dark figure off the bed. He did not expect this and while his body flew across the room and hit the wall with a dull thump, his eyes swept around the room to look for the spell-caster. The boy on the bed turned in his bed but was still asleep, like an angel encased in a dome of light.

As the dark figure's body slid down the wall, a pair of feet appeared in front of him. He looked up and saw Sendoh with his arms crossed.

"Rukawa Kaede," Sendoh said coldly. "Prince and future king of Shohoku."

Rukawa sat on the floor, quiet.

"What are you doing here in Japan? And using your powers here? Is an innocent's life so important that you have to risk the balance of the worlds?"

"Same to you, Prince of Ryonan."

"Answer me, why are you killing Hanamichi?"

"Everyone knows why, including you."

"How can you be sure it's him?"

"Then why are you protecting him?"

"I like him." Sendoh answered curtly.

"I can't be wrong about him." Rukawa looked straight into Sendoh's eyes.

"There isn't a single bit of aura around him, how do you know?"

_Because I felt a calling in my blood and bone,_ Rukawa replied in his mind.

"Look, as long as he is with me, you cannot hurt him," Sendoh narrowed his eyes. "You know you cannot break my shields. If he is who you said he is, he should have awaken when he came to age at twelve."

"There's always exception and he's not just any…"

"Then wait for him to awake to confirm his identity!" Sendoh hissed. "In the meanwhile, keep your hands off him." Sendoh's eyes gleamed red and Rukawa stared back fiercely too.

"Hmmm… Akira? Kitsune?" A sleepy slurry voice sounded from behind them. Hanamichi sat up on his bed, rubbing his eyes as he figured out the two unexpected visitors in his room. "What are you guys doing?"

"Nothing, Hana. We are leaving now. Sorry to disturb your sleep. Go back to sleep, it's only 3am," Sendoh turned around to face Hanamichi with a smile. Rukawa stood up and forcefully opened the door before leaving the room quickly.

"Ah? What's wrong with him, Akira?" Hanamichi yawned again.

"Don't worry, he just wants to sleep quickly, I'm sure he will be ok in the morning. You go back to sleep now, I will close the door for you," Sendoh patted Hanamichi on his head.

After seeing the red head asleep again, Sendoh left the room and gently close the door. He must be more vigilant about Rukawa from now on, he told himself.

* * *

**A/N:** Ahhh I don't know what I'm writing. . I will do better for next chapter!


	7. Arc I: Chapter 6

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**Sumomo89: **Oh, thanks dearie for liking my story! -:huggles:- sorry to keep you waiting I don't know Spanish but thank god you know English! Must be tough on you reading English but still, I hope you enjoy this.

**Blue-eyed Fox: **Arigatou, here's the next chapter!

**Harry Draco Malfoy:** Oh, I used to love Draco/Harry! Oops, out of topic. Haha. Anyway, I can't explain this ficcie yet because it's quite a big thing that I am planning. But I assure you it will be interesting and not stupid or anything (I HOPE!). Yar, there's the Prince thingie that is bugging everyone…this is in MODERN setting, so why is there Prince? Well, let's just say they are special "people".

**Sillyme:** GOMEN FOR KEEPING YOU WAIT! -:gives you cookies:-

**Amanda:** -:gets killed by Amanda:- Really really sorry! I hope you are still reading. If not, I will be sad. T.T

**Sou:** -:gives cookies:- -:runs away before getting killed again:-

**Aiken:** thank you -:curtsy:- sorry for slow update… need time to think of something to write… -:gets dragged away to be punished:-

**Mariesolsd:** T.T sorry!! I write this chapter a little longer to compensate. I am forgiven, ne? Please say yes.

**Momiji:** HAI!! HERE -:Hal's kicked for slow update:-

**A/N: **Once again, I am sorry for slow update. Please do not shoot me! I didn't know University will take up so much of my time. I was going mad with my timetable and we had to bid for our modules. It was like a battle and we had to monitor other people's bidding so that we can respond and change our biddings so that we can get the module. It felt like monitoring the stock market. Ok, sorry, this is so irrelevant. I should stop ranting. Haha. On with the story!

* * *

**Chapter 6: **_**Hanabi(1)**_

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Lalalala lalala, lalalalalala!" A tall boy with flaming crimson hair was singing happily as he hang the blue, yellow, silver and red balls all over the two-metre tall Christmas tree in front of him. This would be his first time celebrating the famous western festival properly.

When he was a child, Christmas was not celebrated as his family was not well-off. With the death of his parents, he chose to forget about festivals. Though he always had his best friend, Mito Youhei, by his side on those days that made him felt more alone than usual, it had never been a proper celebration like now. He still remembered the snow globe with a Santa Claus and his sledge that he saw in a shop when he was five. He had secretly wished to own it, and hoped that Santa would materialize out of the snow globe and make his wishes come true.

"_Urusai(2)_!" Rukawa, who was helping with the decoration, chided. Hanamichi spun around and threw a decorative ball at Rukawa. It bounced off his head and the ice prince narrowed his eyes before grabbing another ball from the box and hurled it back at Hanamichi.

"Baka kitsune! How dare you despise the Tensai's singing?"

"It's noise pollution," Rukawa shrugged his shoulders.

"Teme! You are looking for a fight!" The red head threw himself at the other tall boy and soon, the infamous _kitsune-saru(3)_ fight started again. The usual intervention from Sendoh did not come this time. He had gone out to get the turkey which Hanamichi had asked for, with those big innocent eyes shining with hope.

The fight continued for a while, until both boys laid fully stretched out on the living room floor, panting. A few bruises could be seen on their arms, everything else was fine though. From the initial vicious battles, their fights had now gradually evolved into more of a way of communication. Like puppies playing with each other. It just felt natural for the two to "fight" things out but deep in their heart, neither really wanted to hurt the other. Well, not too much at least.

"Ne, kitsune," Hanamichi turned his head to look at the other boy. "You do know that presents will be exchanged tonight when the clock strikes twelve, right?"

Even though they had only been living together for a couple of weeks, Hanamichi had decided that Rukawa was not such a bad person after all. His mouth might be foul and his look all icy and irritably arrogant, Hanamichi could not help but felt some the warmth from the ice prince. It was like he could sense and even see the flame burning deep within the icy exterior. It was all unexplainable – it was just a feeling after all. But Hanamichi, as the ultimate innocent baby, always followed his feelings when he made decisions.

"Hn," Rukawa closed his eyes as his breathing slowed down. He was not bothered with the nickname because it felt like it was a special name just for him, like he had reserved the word "do'ahou" for the other. He was another person who went about things as he liked as well.

"Ne, kitsune," The red head on the right started again, but did not continue.

"What?" Finding the silence a little strange, the "kitsune" turned right and looked straight at the innocent face of Hanamichi.

"I'm thinking, what should I give you for Christmas?"

"…"

"Hey, say something. What is with that look? So what if I haven't buy them yet?" Hanamichi blushed hard as Rukawa continued to look at him quietly. "Well, Akira doesn't let me go out alone but I don't want to buy presents for you and him with either of you tagging along. I want it to be a surprise! I… I…" His words were lost as he could not continue without any response from the other boy. So he averted his eyes to look at the Christmas tree.

"You."

"What?" Hanamichi did not understand. Before Rukawa can reply, Sendoh's voice floated from above them.

"What are you two doing on the floor?" Sendoh asked smilingly, but his eyes were narrowed on Rukawa after seeing the disheveled clothes on them.

"Akira! You are back!" the red head regained his energy and bounced up from the floor to pounce on the bag in Sendoh's hand.

"The turkey is heavy, be careful," Sendoh said lovingly as Hanamichi took the turkey from his hand eagerly. "What you two doing on the floor?"

"Oh that," Hanamichi blushed again without realizing. "Nothing much."

Sendoh narrowed his eyes at the pinkness rising up on the younger boy's cheeks.

"We were just taking a break, nothing happened," Rukawa shrugged and walked past Sendoh towards the door. "I'm going out for a while."

The older boy looked at the closed door for a while before setting off to prepare for the much anticipated Christmas dinner. He and Hanamichi were bustling around in the kitchen for a couple of hours preparing food, enough to feed more than six people (Hanamichi insisted it), before they went to prepare their Christmas presents individually. Hanamichi wanted to invite Youhei over for dinner but Sendoh said it was still not advisable for Youhei to appear anywhere near the house. But he let Hanamichi call Youhei for a while because he could not stand the sad look on the younger boy.

Rukawa came back just a little before dinner and placed two small wrapped up boxes beneath the Christmas tree with the other presents. The three sat down at the dining table filled with festive food. The roasted turkey, grilled sausages, baked pies, crispy potatoes and sweet log cake filled the dining table. Hanamichi was talking happily throughout the whole dinner and Sendoh joined in the chatter while Rukawa remained as his stoic self.

It was a couple of minutes to the actual Christmas Day and the three boys sat on couches around the Christmas tree. The tree was twinkling with light and the star on the tip was shining gaily. Hanamichi was curling up with a blanket and sipping hot chocolate from the cup he was holding with both hands. Sendoh was reading a book and Rukawa was sleeping (as always). It was a peaceful and quiet night. Hanamichi smiled slightly to himself as he watched the warm glow from the fireplace danced across the faces of the other two companions. The weather had made a turn to be colder as the hours ticked by but he felt warm and happy. It was a wonderful Christmas, it could have been better if Youhei could be here but this day was the best, there was no doubt about it.

Hanamichi threw off his blanket and woke Rukawa immediately when the old grandfather clock chimed twelve in the night. Christmas was here.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS AKIRA AND KITSUNE!" Hanamichi beamed. Sendoh smiled back and hugged him while wishing him Merry Christmas.

Rukawa stood there with an indifferent look as Sendoh and Hanamichi exchanged presents. He himself had thrown Sendoh his present and received his from Sendoh before he pushed the present he had prepared for Hanamichi into the red head's hands. The smile on Hanamichi's face was burning his eyes so he looked away as Hanamichi passed him his.

"Can I open my presents now? Can I, can I?" Hanamichi asked, like a child. Both Sendoh and Rukawa nodded. Soon, the room was filled with the tearing sounds of paper wrappers; all three boys were fully immersed in the festive atmosphere of Christmas.

Sendoh had given Hanamichi a red scarf, which he helped to wrap around Hanamichi's neck, to match his hair and gave Rukawa a pair of headphones. Hanamichi, been unable to go out to buy presents, had made his own Christmas cards and photo frames to give each of the other two boys. He had even inserted photographs of the three of them together. The only difference was that Sendoh's frame was blue based and Rukawa's was black. Sendoh had gotten a tub of Gatsby's Moving Rubber (extra strong holding) from Rukawa and he chuckled loudly and thanked Rukawa good naturedly when he saw the purple tub. On the other hand, Hanamichi was surprised when he opened Rukawa's present.

"How did you…" Hanamichi gaped at the snow globe in his hand. It looked exactly like the one he had dreamt of getting when he was young.

Rukawa just shrugged and went upstairs to his room. Hanamichi stared at the retreating back and Sendoh raised an eyebrow before telling the younger boy to go to bed early. Nodding absentmindedly, Hanamichi grabbed the snow globe tightly.

_Maybe it was just a coincidence; he could not have read my mind._

* * *

Christmas was over. The year's footsteps quickened and it was soon New Year's eve. They did not have as much activities as Christmas for one reason: Hanamichi had been drifting into sleeps more often. He could not explain why he felt so tired day after day even after he had slept for long periods and did nothing much. While Sendoh worried about this abnormal symptom, Rukawa was getting a little suspicious but his confused feelings towards Hanamichi was interfering his judgment.

New Year was approaching with every ticking of the clock. Hanamichi had retired to his room after dinner to sleep straight away. Sendoh was locking himself in his room to contact Youhei regarding Hanamichi's "sleep disease". He had set up an invisible wall of aura just in case Rukawa popped by.

The curtains flapped in the chilly night wind and the pale moonlight once again fell on the sleeping form. His red hair was soft, his nose cute and his lips kissable. A sigh came from the dark body kneeling beside the bed.

"Mmm… Kitsune?" Hanamichi mumbled in his bed as his eyes opened slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Hn," Rukawa, startled by the sudden voice, pretended to be calm.

"It's…eleven fifty pm, are you losing sleep?" the boy in bed looked at his alarm clock and asked.

"Maybe."

"What's it, Kitsune?" Hanamichi been too tired to start his usual bickering with the darker boy, decided to be nice. But the other just shrugged. He sat up on his bed and sighed. "Are you sick?"

"No…" the blue-eyed fox replied. "Well, maybe."

"So are you sick or are you not?" Hanamichi was getting irritated.

"It's my birthday tomorrow," Rukawa suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"First of January is my birthday."

"Oh…oh! Really? Oh my god, you didn't tell me!" Hanamichi jumped up from his bed. "Let me go tell Akira and we will get you something!"

"No," Rukawa stopped the excited Hanamichi. "I…I just want to talk to you."

"Is something wrong?" Hanamichi sat back in his bed again.

_Something is very wrong with me…_ Rukawa thought as he looked at the honey-brown eyes of the big kid in front of him.

"AH!" The boy in the bed suddenly exclaimed. Rukawa frowned slightly at the abrupt noise.

"Come on, come on. Let's go to the roof! Quick!" Hanamichi grabbed Rukawa's arm and dashed out of his room.

They took a ladder and climbed up to the roof. The cold wind of the winter night was making them shiver slightly. Their noses were red and white clouds puffed from their mouths as they breathed. Sitting on the roof, they faced the dark horizon.

In the silent and stagnant night sky, colourful bursts of flowers appeared along with soft bangs. It was the New Year hanabi. The hanabi lit up the dark night with soft colourful glows. They were breathtaking and beautiful against the black canvas.

"Happy birthday, Kitsune!" Hanamichi smiled at the stoic boy beside him. Light bounced off the dark hair boy's face, illuminating him with red, purple, orange, green and other colours.

Rukawa turned to look at the beaming red head. Their eyes met and they held the gaze for a while. Rukawa leaned slightly forward awkwardly and Hanamichi nervously closed his eyes. Their lips grazed, sending a jolt of electricity down both of their spines. The dark hair boy put his hand on the back of the red hair boy's head and gently pulled him closer, pressing their lips harder together. Both were new to kissing so they just maintained the position for some time before Hanamichi pushed Rukawa away, gasping for air. He had forgotten to breathe. Rukawa seemed to have made the same silly mistake as white puffs were exhaled out rapidly from his mouth. The two boys' cheeks were equally red.

Hanamichi avoided eye contacts with Rukawa. His heart was still pounding and he could almost hear his blood rushing to his ears.

_What was that? _He thought. _Kiss…We kissed…_

The silence between the two was deafening and the hanabi had stopped just after they had kissed. The red head shifted uncomfortably on the roof but he forgot that the snow had made the tiles slippery. So down he slipped from the roof with a loud yup like a puppy with its tail stepped on. Rukawa, lost in his thoughts, responded a little too late. As he lunged towards the falling boy, trying to grab his hands, he too slipped off.

"'Ahou!" the nickname slipped from Rukawa's mouth, loudly. He had never shouted so loud before.

"Orf!" Hanamichi landed on his butt in the ankle-deep snow. Within a split moment, Rukawa fell beside him. The latter turned to see Hanamichi lying in the snow with eyes closed. His heart skipped a beat.

"'Ahou?" A quivering call.

"Hmm?" Hanamichi breathed out loudly and opened his eyes. "Man, that hurts. I think my butt just cracked. Haha."

Rukawa let out a sigh in relief. He was alright.

"HANA!" Sendoh's voice came closer with each step. "What are you doing on the ground? What happened? I heard a shout and loud thumps. I thought it was some stupid burglars or something."

"Haha, it's nothing. We just fell off the roof, that's all," Hanamichi smiled sheepishly as Rukawa and him stood up from the ground.

"What are you doing up on the roof?"

"Er…"

"Hanabi," Rukawa cut in.

"Yes, we were watching the New Year's hanabi. They are so beautiful! You should have seen it! Achoo!" Hanamichi sneezed loudly. He was only wearing his sleeping attire after all.

Frowning, Sendoh ushered the sneezing teen into the house. "Come on, you better get into the house to get warm. You are catching a cold! You said you won't hurt yourself again, you remember?"

"Sorry, Akira…" Hanamichi stole a glance at the stoic fox and let Sendoh lead him away. Sendoh sighed as he gave in to Hanamichi's adorable face (with a red nose). This red head was definitely making him weak at heart.

What an adventurous night it was for Hanamichi and Rukawa.

* * *

**(1) Hanabi:** Fireworks

**(2)Urusai:** Shut up, keep quiet, noisy!

**(3) Kitsune-saru:** fox-monkey a.k.a. Rukawa-Hanamichi. XD

* * *

**A/N:** Yay, done with another chapter! -:throws confetti:- -:coughs:- ok, shoot me. I deserve it. SORRY TO MAKE YOU PEOPLE WAIT. -:bows down:- A little step (kiss?) ahead for Rukawa, ne? Haha. Ganbatte Sendoh!!

Sendoh: …I AM trying my best…it's YOU who are in the way!!

Author: -:whistles:- What? I didn't hear anything. -:walks away quickly:-

Sendoh: Stupid author. I'm gonna kill her one day. GIVE HANA TO ME OR I WILL BITE YOU!! -:shouts after Author:-

Rukawa: -:smirks:-

Hana: Oi, I AM NOT A THING!

Author: -:already hiding in a hole far far away, shouts back:- I LOVE YOU MORE THAN RUKAWA, SENDOH! (-:adds softly:- but Hana's Rukawa's…)

Sendoh: I DON'T WANT YOUR LOVE! I WANT HANA'S!

**T.B.C.**


	8. Arc I: Chapter 7

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**A/N: **I wanna have at least 100 reviews for my story (in total for all three arcs)! LOL! Is that even possible? –wonders- Anyway, Happy (very) belated RuHana day! *gets dragged away*

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Preparation**

The time was drawing near but they were nowhere near completing the task. As the clock ticked closer to the start of April, Sendoh was cooping up in his room for longer and longer periods of time every time he entered it. Sometimes, he would even forget to come out for meals and Hanamichi had to kick open the door to drag him out.

His handsome face frequently bore beard stubbles and dark eye circles crept underneath his not-as-brilliant blue eyes. It was obvious that he was missing sleep as well.

"What are you doing in your room?" Hanamichi stood with both his hands on his waist, and frowned at the taller boy whose usual spiky hair was now drooping. They looked like black coloured grass that had withered.

"Work…?" Sendoh said, raising his eyebrows trying to have an innocent look.

"Work? What kind of work is so important that you stay up for more than thirty hours without food? I repeat, THIRTY. HOURS. WITH. OUT. FOOD." Hanamichi was really pissed this time.

"It's ok for me to go without sleep or food for a couple of days. I won't die… Alright, Hana! Let go off my neck! You are breaking it!" Sendoh screamed a rather high-pitched scream when Hanamichi grabbed his throat out of the blue when he said the word "die". "I get it, I get it. I will go take a shower, eat something and get some sleep, ok?"

"Hmph. You better be down in the kitchen in five minutes' time, or else…" The red head stormed down the stairs.

Five minutes quickly passed but Sendoh was not in the kitchen. As Hanamichi scooped some miso soup out from the pot, he asked Rukawa to go get that Porcupine.

"I can't go into his room," Rukawa answered coolly.

"Why not?"

_Because that bastard put a barrier against me around his room… and yours… after New Year._ Rukawa gritted his teeth in his mind but to Hanamichi, he just shrugged.

The boy had finished laying the table and decided that he would just do it himself. After living together for so long, however stupid and slow Hanamichi might be regarding human relationship, he at the very least knew that Rukawa and Sendoh did not get along with each other as well as they appeared to be on the surface.

"Sendoh Akira! Come out!" Hanamichi did not even bother knocking on the door and just barged in. He found the tall young man sleeping on the bed. His hair was still wet after the shower.

"Tsk! Such a baby," Hanamichi muttered as he took a piece of towel to dry Sendoh's slightly long hair. Then he softly tucked the sleeping youth snuggly under a thin blanket. Though it was spring now, the air was still a little chilly. When he was about to leave the bedside, Sendoh grabbed his hand and spun him around.

"Huh! You're awake?" the red head gasped.

"Yes…"

"Sorry to wake you up, you want to eat now?" the red head showed his concern, such gentle voice was rare coming from this boisterous kid.

"No."

"Alright then, you get some sleep. I am leaving now," Hanamichi tugged at his hand but Sendoh gripped it harder. He sat up on the bed and pulled Hanamichi into a hug.

"Stay like this for a while, please?" Sendoh's voice sounded rather weak.

Hanamichi was embarrassed but he did not pull away. Nodding his head against the strong shoulder blade his chin was now resting on, he gingerly wrapped his arms around Sendoh's torso. He knew that Sendoh must have met with real difficulties in his work, if not a strong man like him would not have shown such a weak side.

Sendoh's lips curled into a small smile as he inhaled the smell of sunshine from the red head.

"Ne, Akira," Hanamichi asked as he twisted awkwardly in Sendoh's arms. "It's been a long while since I moved in right?"

Sendoh nodded as he rubbed the wide back of Hanamichi's through the shirt.

"And nothing much has happened since I moved in; do you think everything is ok now?"

Sendoh shook his head.

"But nothing's happened and I don't think there's anyone who's so determined to get to me!" Hanamichi's voice rose. He was never a patient child.

Sendoh pulled away from the hug unwillingly and sighed.

"Hana…"

"Don't…don't look at me with that look!" Hanamichi gulped at the "motherly" look on Sendoh's face.

"Hana…"

"…"

"Hai…Hana…"

"WHAT!" It was a shout rather than a question. Sendoh was getting on his nerve.

"Hana," Sendoh pouted.

"That is enough, Sendoh Akira!" The red head roared as he bounced up and knelt on the bed, straddling Sendoh on his torso. "Don't you think that you can get away without answering my question!"

Sendoh let the enraged boy pushed him onto the bed and pulled his arms above his head. His brown eyes bright with anger and Sendoh greedily took the beauty of the boy into his eye and etched them in his mind.

"You know… this position can be rather…sexy too," Sendoh teased and grinned. "If you want to ride me, I'm all ready."

Hanamichi immediately blushed blood red. He awkwardly let go of Sendoh's arms and climbed off Sendoh's torso.

"Hentai!" Hanamichi shouted as he closed his eyes to avoid Sendoh's burning gaze and just as he was about to deliver a punch at the fair boy's jaw, a warm moist breathe against his ear made him shiver. It tickled him and felt strange, he blushed harder.

"What I can tell you now is very little," the taller boy whispered. "But whatever I tell you now, please promise me not to act rashly upon it, ok?"

The boy, once again in his arms, nodded. Sendoh continued to whisper into Hanamichi's ear as he enjoyed the brief moments of having this boy in his arms.

"We know who is after you."

"What?" Hanamichi wriggled in Sendoh's arms. But he still could not free himself, so he spun around to face Sendoh. Their faces were just inches apart.

"I mean…who?" He lowered his voice and spoke softly, eyes staring into Sendoh's.

"He's close by…" Sendoh leaned forward and planted a kiss on the red hair's slightly parted lips. His first real kiss with him.

Sendoh was about to deepen the kiss and lightly brushed the tip of his tongue against the dry lips of the other boy. Hanamichi gulped and pushed Sendoh away before running at a neck-breaking speed back to his room. Slamming his door shut, he leaned against it and touched his lips. _Why did he do that? Second kiss in my life…_

"Argh! I forgot to ask for the name," Hanamichi slapped his forehead as he sat on his bed. But he was definitely not going back to Sendoh's room for quite a while. The feeling of Sendoh's lips against his own was still lingering and at the thought of this, he blushed again.

"Someone close by…who?" The red head flopped on his bed and frowned. "Could it be…? No, it can't. How can someone my age be a killer?"

* * *

Sendoh sat on his bed, eyes still staring at the empty doorway where the red head had dashed out from. Hanamichi was cute, too cute. Sighing, Sendoh flopped back onto the soft bed and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to trap the lingering heat for as long as possible.

"As expected, Hanamichi is the person I am looking for," Rukawa's voice drifted into the room. Sendoh turned around in the bed and stared at the other pale looking boy. He was standing just a step outside the doorway, but that was the maximum he could reach. Sendoh's barrier was highly efficient and selective. He had created it such that it only he and Hanamichi could enter, and the identification for the barrier was the blood and the aura of the person entering. Rukawa narrowed his eyes and continued to speak.

"Those red hair, the sudden sleepiness recently, and your existence. I know I can't be wrong. He's awakening soon. That is why you and that Youhei are preparing the port right now, it must be tough work for just the two of you," the fox-eyed boy smirked.

"It would be much easier if someone would stop interfering," Sendoh said coldly as he stood up and walked out of the room to face Rukawa.

"I can't let you send him over, at least not alive."

"Don't you dare touch him!" Sendoh stared at Rukawa menacingly and spoke these words softly, but with force.

"I'm just touching the port," Rukawa turned and walked to his room. He added as he stepped into his room, "Before I kill him."

Sendoh gritted his teeth. This was bad. He could not kill Rukawa; it would send the world back home chaotic. But if this dragged on, Hanamichi might just… he needed to hurry up. The preparation had to be over now, with disruptions or not.

Thinking of this, he slammed his door shut and connected with Youhei again.

"Youhei, we need to hurry up. If it is possible, I want this to end by tomorrow. His birthday would be the perfect day to do this. Once his birthday is over, his powers might…"

"I know…" Youhei's tired voice reached Sendoh's ears.

"How is it going?"

"That previous spot was too much destroyed by Rukawa but I think I have found a new spot, it should be up by tomorrow. I will need you to add extra barrier to hide the spot once I am done."

"Alright, don't over work yourself. We will need all of our energy to be make the process a smooth one. I will be over with you in a while. Take care."

"See you."

* * *

**A/N: T.B.C. - The fic will be rated M or MA for the next chapter... after that, I don't think I can change it back down? I don't know. I am not familiar with the new FF since I hadn't touched it for some years. Sorry for those who ain't of age. -.-|||  
**


	9. Arc I: Chapter 8

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**A/N: **I want to thank all those who put story alerts for this fic. I am sorry that my speed is disappointing. T_T And oh, please do review!! Each review is an added motivation for the writer. =333

**Sillyme: **Hanamichi won't remember until the next arc. The current arc will be ending next chapter.

**Amanda: **This chapter is for you. I hope you are able to read it (due to the rating). =)

* * *

**Chapter 8: Kill You**

_The ultimate perfect hands  
No sweat, no tremble  
Crossed behind the smile  
A silhouette hidden with danger  
At your most lax moment  
Killing you without any emotions  
Never turning back  
The starting feeling, is not painful  
Enlarged pupil, just as if dreaming  
Illusion of blissfulness, full of warmth and tolerance  
Still anticipating  
This is an impulse that kills_

_You don't understand, I don't understand  
Why do killers exist  
Because of love, or the unknown future  
A relaxing mood  
300 metres away from you  
Counting the heartbeats and waiting  
Throwing away all thoughts  
Locking it in, this beautiful sorrow  
This is love, it's love_

_The world doesn't understand  
A relaxing mood  
300 metres away from you  
Feeling extremely hungry  
Need you to fill this blank  
Locking it in, this beautiful sorrow  
This is love, it's love, only you understand (1)_

_

* * *

_Rukawa's lips twisted into a sinister smile, distorting his handsome face.

"Hiding the port," He said to himself as he sat on the bed in the dark. "You are underestimating me, Mito Youhei."

_I will crush your hopes. Go to the spot and take your time with the port, Sendoh Akira and Mito Youhei. I don't have to destroy it if I can destroy a more important...person._

Indeed, Rukawa was not stupid, or rather, he was a very smart person. His intelligence had even surpassed that of his Master's and it was by his hands that his Master died. It was the last test he was required to pass to graduate from his Master's teachings.

Under his Master, he had learnt the spells and techniques to tame and use the powers residing in his body. But he had also learnt the most lethal technique – void of all emotions. He killed his Master without batting his eyelashes even once. The last words of his Master rang in his ears again,_ "A warrior…does not…need…any…any emo…tions…You…you have…mastered… it…well…You…"_ His Master could speak no more as he drew the wooden stick he had used as a weapon out of the chest cavity. He leapt away as the red thick warm liquid splurged out; he hated dirtying his body with something as filthy as someone else's blood.

Knocking on Hanamichi's door, Rukawa's expression returned to the stoic mask he had always put on. The door opened and he heard the red head let out a gasp. He looked up at the face in front of him, momentarily losing himself in those brown warm eyes.

"What do you want, Kitsune?" Hanamichi pouted slightly. It was indeed a surprise to see the cold boy at his door. After the kiss on New Year's eve, Rukawa had not initiated any conversation with him, at least not any regarding what happened that night. Also he seemed to be out of the house a lot for the past month. Of course, Hanamichi himself had been drifting into sleep more and more often and even now, he felt like sleeping. So it was hard for either of them to even see each other. But sometimes, it made him wonder if Rukawa was just playing with him that night. For nights, he had wondered what was going on between him and Rukawa.

_Maybe the feeling was just one-sided? What feelings? What feelings am I talking about? There is nothing between us. I barely know him; he doesn't know me before he moved in. What am I thinking? But …_ Hanamichi shook his head and continued to stare at the boy in front of him. If Rukawa knocked on his door just for a staring competition, he would not lose to him. He, a tensai, would never lose to the stupid Kitsune over anything.

"Come out," Rukawa commanded.

"Don't want," Hanamichi tilted his head so that he could look down at the slightly shorter guy.

"Come out."

"You come in."

"You come out."

"No, you come in."

"Can't, you come out."

"I'm not listening to you. The Tensai doesn't listen to anyone except himself," Hanamichi grinned and folded his arms. One could almost expect him to dance around in glee.

Rukawa just stood at the doorway and waited. He really could not do anything unless Hanamichi came out of his room. The barrier was too strong, it was one created by Sendoh after all. And it was this confidence in his own barrier that Sendoh let Hanamichi stay in his room alone while he went out with Youhei.

"Are you too afraid to leave your comfort zone?" Rukawa decided to provoke Hanamichi. He knew the red head's temper is as hot as his hair was red. Anything taunting his manly image would set the slightly taller boy into a rage.

"What? Tensai afraid? Haha. As if!" Hanamichi continued to stand just inside the doorway, behind the barrier. Of course, he himself did not know of any barrier's existence. "A man should keep his promise and I promised Akira that I will not step out of the room if he is not home."

"So you are just his dog, listening to whatever he says," Rukawa felt an inexplicable sense of jealousy swelling up.

"What did you say? You are calling the Tensai a dog?" Hanamichi flared up and almost stepped out of the barrier when he stopped in mid-step and paused. Then he spoke with a voice full of smug, "Ha! You are trying to trick the Tensai right? You want me to get angry and then step out of the room, right? I won't fall for it. Haha."

Rukawa rolled his eyes as the boy inside the room burst into a gleeful laughter.

"Whatever," he muttered. "So you like him, that's why you listen to him?"

Hanamichi's laughter ceased immediately as he remembered the kiss in Sendoh's room. His cheeks flushed red.

"Who…who said I like him!" Hanamichi said it as a statement.

Seeing his red cheeks and stammering sentence, Rukawa gritted his teeth and balled his fists tighter. He was jealous that the guy in front of him was blushing for another guy. He was angry that the guy in front of him was not his and his alone. He was…

_Wait. What am I thinking? This guy here is influencing me too much. Why? Why is it that whenever I see him, I feel like pouncing on him and making him mine alone? He's just another guy that I need to get rid of… My mission is to kill but why do my powers seem to ebb from me whenever I am with him. _Rukawa had never been this frustrated. He suddenly punched the wall beside the door violently. Maybe a little pain would wake him up from all these confusion and find his composure.

"Are you crazy, Kitsune?" Hanamichi shouted when he saw Rukawa punch the wall. "Gee, what is your problem? Don't you think that you can scare the Tensai with your…"

The boyish loud voice suddenly trailed off and a thump followed. Hanamichi had fallen unconscious and half of his body was outside of the barrier. This was not the first time the youngest boy in the house had fallen unconscious whilst doing something. It would be more accurate to say he had fallen asleep.

Rukawa was not sure why Hanamichi developed such a symptom because this was never classified as a symptom for awakening. But he was sure this had something to do with the power that was dormant in the tan body on the floor now. Though Rukawa was leaner than Hanamichi, he could pick up the sleeping body without much effort. He did not go through fifteen years of training for nothing.

Laying the sleeping boy on his own bed, he sat beside the bed, staring at Hanamichi. His finger slowly traced the smooth skin along the jaws, up to the earlobes, then up to the sharp eyebrows. Rubbing those eyebrows and then brushing softly against the long lashes, he wished to look at those brown eyes beneath the lids again. Trailing his finger down the sharp nose of Hanamichi, he lingered on those supple lips. His mouth was drying and his tongue seemed to stick to the roof of his mouth as he continued to rub on those lips with his finger.

Swallowing hard, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Hanamichi's. Images of the kiss on the rooftop flooded his mind and he closed his eyes. But just like bees attracted to nectar, once his lips touched the other's, he could not bear to remove them. Rubbing their lips together, Rukawa crawled onto the bed and hovered over Hanamichi with his arms and legs on either side of the sleeping boy.

Not satisfied with such a chaste kiss, the pale boy traced the contours of the lips with his tongue, tasting the sweetness. He licked and nibbled on the two petals and a soft moan from the slightly tortured mouth sent a jolt of shiver right down to his manhood. Slipping his tongue into the slightly opened lips, he ran his tongue across the straight rows of teeth. Just kissing the boy made his mind go blank and his cheeks burn hot. The rest of his body was equally hot and he could not seem to control himself. Putting a palm into the thin sweater, he greedily touched the toned body beneath him.

The skin was supple, smooth and healthy. His hands were like iron stuck to magnet, moving over every single inch on the flat abs, lean waist and broad chest. Coaxing the mouth to open bigger, his twined his tongue with the sleek stripe of muscle in the wet cavity, drinking in the nectar dripping from the corner of the opened mouth. Their tongues brushed together in a slow dance, and Hanamichi's eyes fluttered open.

* * *

**(1) **This is the translated lyrics for a Chinese song called **Sha Shou **(Killer) sang by **JJ Lin.**

**

* * *

A/N: **Yes, I am not stopping here… it is just that this chapter is too long so I broke it into two. :) First time writing bed scene, sorry if it is of no good.

**T.****B.C.**


	10. Arc I: Chapter 9

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**A/N: **Review review! I hope people can still read this even though I changed the rating. [EDIT: revised the rating and the chapter]

* * *

**Chapter 9: Kill Me**

"Hmmm…?" Hanamichi tried to ask but Rukawa's tongue was now stroking his cheek. Realizing what was going on, Hanamichi's eyes widened like a shocked deer and his quickly tried to push Rukawa away with his hands. But Rukawa, hormones raging, pulled those arms above the red head roughly with one big hand. He stared into the brown eyes as he used the thumb of the other hand to rub the moist and red lips hard.

"What are you doing, Kitsune?" Hanamichi turned his head to the side forcefully to escape the thumb and tried to kick Rukawa with his long legs. But Rukawa had already straddled his lower body with his own long legs.

"I like you." A clean short reply.

"Wh…what?" Hanamichi bit his lips, confusion clearly shining in his clear honey pupils. He could not believe what he was hearing. Was he dreaming?

"I like you."

Not knowing why, Sendoh's voice appeared beside Hanamichi's ears again. _"Someone close by…"_

"Liar. You are the killer after my life… right?" He turned the statement into a question at the last moment. In his heart, he was afraid to hear the confirmation.

"I like you." Rukawa did not answer the question, instead he repeated his words.

"Answer me." Hanamichi turned his eyes away from the wanton gaze of the dark hair boy.

"I like you." He lowered his head and sucked on the skin just underneath the jawline. Hanamichi bit back a moan. He had never imagined himself wanting to moan like he wanted to now. It felt most embarrassing so he suppressed as much as he could. He did not want to make any shameful noise if not he knew he would die of embarrassment the next day he saw Rukawa.

"You like me." It was a statement, not a question, from Rukawa.

"Who…who said…ah…so?" Hanamichi emitted a soft yup as he tried to question. His breathes a little quicker than usual.

"I can feel it," Rukawa was rather full of himself most of the time, and this moment was one of such times. Hanamichi's cheeks turned a shade redder, not sure if it was from the kisses or from the fact that Rukawa was right about him liking this cold guy.

Rukawa was addicted, addicted to this toxic called Hanamichi. As he plunged into another kiss with Hanamichi, his hands wondered all over Hanamichi's body. Hanamichi wrapped his now freed arms around Rukawa's neck with hesitation. Whatever he was doing now, he had never done before nor had he even thought of it at all. But whatever was happening, he could felt himself sinking deeper, and secretly liking it there. Yes, he liked this fox-eyed person and he could not help it. It must be the work of destiny.

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_**MATURED CONTENT: I have removed this part so that I can lower the rating for everyone else to read. To read the YAOI (aka bed aka s*x) scene, please read it here: http:// haerjun. wordpress. com /2008 /12 /24 / hana-matsuri-chapter-9 / . Remove the spaces please.  
**_

* * *

"A'hou…get up…"

"…"

"Listen to me, get up."

"…"

"I think you are bleeding… let me take a look."

"…"

"Let me see, be good, get up." A rare gentle voice from Rukawa.

"…"

"If you continue like this, I might want to go for a second round."

"Hentai Kitsune!" Hanamichi finally spoke and moved. Looking at the blood red face of Hanamichi, Rukawa smiled gently. It was a smile that could kill. Hanamichi twisted his head away quickly and buried himself under a blanket while letting out a "hmph". He might fall deeper in love with Rukawa if he looked any longer.

"Let's go clean up," Rukawa stood up and tried to pull away the blanket. Hanamichi grabbed the blanket tighter.

"Are you trying to suffocate yourself?"

"Urusai. When did you turn so talkative?" Hanamichi's voice was muffled.

"When I make you mine," Rukawa replied seriously.

"No shame!" Hanamichi buried himself deeper under the blanket and attempted to kick Rukawa. The kick was of no threat of course but it caused a sharp pain to explode in Hanamichi's rather tortured hind side and he let out a small yup. Rukawa sighed and just carried the angry Hanamichi together with the blanket into the bathroom.

"I will clean myself," Hanamichi said as he stood in the bathtub. As if not hearing anything, Rukawa made Hanamichi sit down and filled the bathtub with warm water before using his fingers to clear the semen and blood from Hanamichi's little hole gently. He himself did not know that a hand used for killing could be this gentle when he wanted to.

"Does it hurt?" Rukawa asked as he cleaned Hanamichi with full concentration.

"Hmph! It's over already, what's the use of caring now?" Hanamichi pouted.

"Sorry," Rukawa apologized but his apology was not heard as Hanamichi fell into another deep slumber.

Drying Hanamichi, Rukawa carried Hanamichi back to his bed and dressed him up again before tucking him under a new blanket. Looking at the sleeping face, he leaned forward and planted a kiss on the forehead.

_Killing you… _Rukawa thought. _Is killing me._

_

* * *

Sunlight leapt over the window, I am in the shadow  
Only past 13:00 in the afternoon, it's already pitch black  
No one can see, the dark side in the depth of my heart  
I can only gaze at the East, your world is too far away  
Holding on to the limit of imagination, how sweet is happiness  
The night has enveloped me, I can't hold your hands  
Because I live in the West, having only half a day  
Once afternoon arrives, the darkness spreads  
Though I'm standing in front of you, you can't see my face  
Feeling the lost look from you  
On the West side of the world, there is only half a day  
Secretly praying for God's pity  
To give me a trail of light at the edge of the night  
__So that you can take one more look at me (1)_

_

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_**(1)** This is the translated lyrics for a Chinese song called **Xi Jie **(West Side) sang by **JJ Lin.**

**

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A/N: **Now I know the torture of writing bed scenes. I am wrong to request for bed scenes from the other writers! I understand your pain now!!! Actually, chapter 9 is the 2nd part of Chapter 8. The entire chapter is supposed to be called Kill You, Kill Me. But I am just lazy to think of another title when I decided to break this chapter into two... so now Chapter 8 is Kill You and Chapter 9 is Kill Me. Haha. REVIEW. ^^

**T.****B.C.**


	11. Arc I: Chapter 10

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**A/N: **I should be studying for my exam. T.T

**Harry Draco Malfoy:** Thank you for your review and I have answered some questions in the email. ^^

**Mooooona:** Sorry! Could you send in your email like this: blahblah blahblah . blahblah? Yup, with spaces between them because likes to censor off email address.

**Lack_Honesty:** As mentioned, has censored off your email address. That is why I could not send you the previous chapter. Please send in again. Sorry!!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Gone**

Sendoh looked at the sunlight spilling in through the window. He was deciding between drawing the curtain and letting the afternoon sun light up the room. But either way, Hanamichi would not know because he was still snuggling up on Rukawa's bed. Sendoh sighed.

"What happened, Hana?" He asked as he stroked the soft red locks, eyes filled with concerned and sorrow. He could guess as much, seeing from the marks around Hanamichi's neck.

"Why did you come out of your room? No, I shouldn't blame you. It is my fault. I should not have left you alone. I should have told you Rukawa was… the one after your life. I… I should not have even let him into the house in the first place. I was too arrogant. I'm sorry, Hana…" Sendoh's voice quivered a little.

"Sendoh…" Someone tapped his shoulder. "This is not the time for taking blames. Is there any way to lift Hanamichi out of Rukawa's spell? It might be a slow-acting spell that is life-threatening…"

"You are right, Youhei," Sendoh stood up and faced Youhei Mito. It did not matter for Youhei to appear in this house, now that Rukawa was obviously aware that Hanamichi was the one. "It was just a sleeping spell. Very simple but troublesomely tricky. An ancient spell. Rukawa is indeed powerful to have learnt this."

"Well, can we break it? We can't send him over like this," Youhei frowned.

"No, that is the tricky part. While the spell is of no harm, there is no way to break it. I don't know how long Hanamichi will sleep. It depends on how Rukawa had casted it."

Youhei rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, "All the rushing last night is wasted. That bastard!"

"At least he didn't kill Hana."

"I wonder why," Youhei squatted down beside the bed and ruffled the red head. Then his eyes widened and he let out an exclamation, "What the hell! He… he… oh my god!" He had seen the marks on Hanamichi's neck.

"Yes."

"I… I don't know…I…I'm speechless," Youhei was still in a shocked state and his mouth gaped but he could not find any words so he closed it again.

"It's destiny," Sendoh stood up and stretched his legs. His blue eyes were dark.

"Destiny?"

"It's complicated, I will explain when time is ripe," Sendoh tilted his head and took a side glance at the frowning short boy. "Come on, we have work to do."

They had to postpone their plan yet again, so they froze the portal as keeping it open would exhaust their energy more rapidly. At the thought of this, Sendoh gritted his teeth. That night, after moving Hanamichi back to his room and letting Youhei take Rukawa's room, Sendoh sat on his bed and mediated, searching through his years of memories to find a remedy for the current situation.

The next morning, when Youhei saw the tall boy in the kitchen, he thought he see a panda instead.

"Wow! What happened?" Youhei passed a cup of coffee to Sendoh.

"Just did some research all night," Sendoh sipped the freshly brewed coffee and let out a sigh. "I found a way to check how long the spell would last and if needed, I will speed up the spell."

"Speeding up the spell? That would be dangerous, it is life risking!"

"I also hope that I would not have to do that," the blue-eyed boy sighed.

After breakfast, they went to Hanamichi's room. Sendoh lifted Hanamichi up with a drift of air before enveloping him with himself in a ball of warm air. Youhei stood at the door way and watched. Sendoh had his eyes closed and his brows furrowed, his palms were opened, fingers closed together. The thumbs and index fingers of each hand lightly touched together, forming a diamond shape and hovering over Hanamichi's forehead.

As he focused, strings of blue energy flow streamed into Hanamichi and red ones streamed out. The two energy flows twined together; either one flickered on and off, fading and brightening. Sendoh's brows knitted closer together, his jaws tightened. Then the two bodies began to spin in slow circles and sparks flew from the globe of air. Youhei's lips tightened and he jumped to prepare for any mishaps that might occur. But nothing much seemed to be happening and the sparks ceased to appear after a while.

Youhei had been watching the process for almost three hours now, he did not know what Sendoh was doing but neither did he dare to open his mouth to ask. Beads of sweat were forming on Sendoh's forehead; he was putting in his full concentration. So Youhei decided to keep his questions to himself, even a small distraction would cause the outflow of energy to retract into Sendoh with full force. That would definitely harm his vital inner organs severely.

Slightly past two in the afternoon, the globe of air drew in the surrounding air, creating a gust of wind. Sendoh's blue energy flow was suddenly enveloped by the red flow and absorbed back into Hanamichi's body. Sendoh's eyes opened, now tinted with a brighter blue than his usual eye colour, and he swiftly made some seals with his hands. In a blink of eyes, a beam of blue light with red thin beams spiraling around it shot out of Hanamichi's forehead, hitting Sendoh in his chest. The globe of air burst, Sendoh let out an "orf" as the force threw him across the room and he threw up a mouthful of white liquid – his blood. The hot air hit the room.

"Hanamichi! Sendoh!" Youhei was alert. He quickly set a drift of air to lower Hanamichi slowly back to bed and to cushion Sendoh's fall. Seeing that there were no obvious injuries on Hanamichi, Youhei rushed to Sendoh and helped him up.

"How are you?"

"I'm… cough… I'm fine…" Sendoh wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and Youhei helped him to sit on the bedside. Youhei eyed the fading seal on Sendoh's forehead and the white blood trailing down his neck, but he swallowed back his curiosity as Sendoh was not in condition to answer questions.

Sendoh saw the hesitance in Youhei and laughed a soft laugh. He lifted up one finger and winked, "I'll answer one question."

"Ah… this… You are one of the…" Youhei took another look at the now clean forehead and the stained corner of Sendoh's mouth. His voice was a little unlike his usual calm tone. "Right?"

"Haha… haha. Yes, yes I am. I'm the _Aoi_ _Go-In (_青い御印_) (1)_. But it's nothing compared to _Suuji-In(_数字印_) (2)_ like you," Sendoh's lips lifted at the corners.

"Lord Aoi!" Youhei knelt down with his head bowed. "A lowly subject like me cannot be compared to you."

"Hai… That is the reason why the five of us do not like to reveal our identities. Stop that, Youhei. I treat you like a friend, so stand up. Dispense this formality. If not, I'll break all ties with you," Sendoh's eyes twinkled. "You gain the _In-no-Chikara_(印の力) _(3)_ based on your abilities, mine is due to inheritance, of course you are better than me."

"Lord…"

"Sendoh."

"Sen…doh…"

"Or you want to call me Akira like Hana does? And I said to stand up."

"Urh… I will stick to Sendoh then," Youhei stood up awkwardly, his face a little red.

"Keep this matter to yourself," Sendoh rubbed his forehead. "To think I have to use the power of the Go-In to speed up the spell. The lasting period for the spell was at least a year, I can't determine it fully. But one year is long enough so I have sped it up to less than a week. I have to take my hat off to your Prince for such a tough spell."

"He is not my Prince! My Prince is here," Youhei said with a dark gleam in his eyes.

"Right, right, my bad," Sendoh apologized.

For the next few days, Sendoh spent most of his time remediating as the injury from that day was not simple. Due to his underestimation of the danger level of the spell, he was not prepared for such a huge rebound of the energy flow thus his heart was somewhat hurt by the impact. Sometimes, the danger level of interfering with a spell was not determined by the difficulty level but the power of the caster. A powerful caster could make a simple spell the trickiest spell one can encounter. Seeing from how the spell was casted on Hanamichi, Sendoh could say that Rukawa's prowess was not much inferior to his own, if not on par.

On the Eighth of April, Hanamichi finally woke up and Sendoh had fully recovered. Youhei was relieved when Hanamichi's eyes fluttered open.

"Hmm… Eh? Youhei…?" Hanamichi's vision was a little blurry now but he recognized that face.

"Yes, it's me."

"What are you doing here?" Hanamichi frowned.

"Well… it is complicated," Youhei replied. "Let me get you some food and water first. You must be famished after sleeping for a week."

"A week?" the boy in bed wanted to sit up but his body was too weak. Sendoh pushed him back onto the bed while Youhei went down to the kitchen.

"Where's Kitsune?" the red head asked.

"He's…gone," Sendoh said softly.

"What? That…that… bastard!" biting his lips, Hanamichi turned his head away for he felt a sting at the corner of his eyes. He did not want to let Sendoh see him cry.

"It's alright, Hana," Sendoh scooped Hanamichi's head against his own chest. "You can cry now, but remember, I'm here for you always. I will not let him hurt you again."

Hanamichi's tears spilled silently and his fingers tightened the grip on Sendoh's shirt. Youhei brought some porridge and milk for Hanamichi and after he ate, they began a serious talk.

"My Prince," Youhei knelt on one knee and bowed his head to Hanamichi.

"What are you doing, Youhei? Are you talking to me?" Hanamichi asked. "Are you rehearsing for some play?"

"No, my Prince," Youhei continued to kneel. "It is time for me to bring you back to where you belong and claim the world that is rightfully yours."

"Akira, what is he saying?" Hanamichi jumped out of the bed but immediately fell to the floor as his knees gave way. He hated this weak feeling.

"Hanamichi," Sendoh said with a serious tone. He had never been this serious before. It made Hanamichi listen to him quietly. "It is a long story but to make this story short, I will skip the details. You will learn the details when we get back. First of all, you are not a human. Secondly, you do not belong to Earth, you come from a world called Seikai (聖界), meaning the Divine World. Third, you were sent to the Earth less than twenty years ago and now it is time for us to bring you back. As for the reasons, we will explain when we get there. Lastly, your powers are awakening and it is very dangerous, we are already seven days behind schedule, so we will execute the Cross Over right after this. Is everything clear?"

Hanamichi was too stunned with all the information. He asked weakly, "Today is not my birthday, not April Fool's day right?"

"No."

"My Prince," Youhei moved to help Hanamichi up from the floor. His best friend just turned his head slowly to look at him with an unbelieving look on his face.

"Youhei…?"

"Yes, my Prince?"

"I said stop playing this game!" Hanamichi flared up and attempted a head butt at Youhei.

"Hana!" Sendoh pulled the angry red head into his arms. "Do we look like we are playing?"

"How long have you been aware of this?" the red head turned to look at Youhei. "Or have you been aware of this all along?"

The other kept his silence.

"Why…? Why did you keep me in the dark?" he bite his lower lip, angry tears moistened his eyes.

"I'm sorry but it was a command," Youhei pressed his lips together. He knew that Hanamichi felt betrayed.

"Ok, you can interrogate him after we have Crossed Over," Sendoh pulled Hanamichi to his feet.

"Cross Over? Does that mean I am going to die?" Hanamichi blinked his big brown eyes at Sendoh.

"No, it means to be transported back to the Divine World via the portal."

"Something like teleportation," Youhei added, using a word that he knew Hanamichi was familiar with (Hanamichi liked to watch fantasy movies).

"Hmph. Let's go," Hanamichi turned his head away from Youhei sharply and walked out of the room. Sendoh chuckled at the slight pout on the youth's face. Youhei sighed.

Though Hanamichi was still puzzled by what was going on, he still trusted Youhei and Sendoh. He was just an innocent kid after all.

* * *

Coming to the portal, Sendoh and Youhei spent another half an hour to open up the portal. But just as they were about to fully open it up, an unexpected visitor turned up.

"Hm!" Rukawa's voice rang across the vast space. Hanamichi turned and looked into those blue eyes, something stirred in his chest.

"Not bad, Sendoh, I didn't expect you possess knowledge of that ancient spell," Rukawa's cold voice pierced through the air, at the same time, he threw out a bolt of lightning towards the portal. Sendoh flicked his right hand and the bolt of lightning disappeared.

Rukawa sent out a bolt of icicle towards Hanamichi without any warning. The red hair boy's eyes widened with surprise and his mouth opened slightly, he did not expect Rukawa to attack him.

"Hana!" Sendoh pushed Hanamichi into the portal and Youhei followed.

"Ah!" Hanamichi's body hit the turbulence within the portal after hitting his head against the side of the opening. The last thing he saw was Sendoh pressing against Rukawa's double-bladed katana with a black short pole. And the last conversation he heard was Sendoh's "I will protect him for this life, like I told you three thousand years ago." and Rukawa's "I don't know what you are talking about."

Then everything went black and quiet. He sank into an unconscious state.

* * *

**(1) Aoi ****Go-In: **Green Imperial Seal (to be explained in ARC II)

**(2)** **Suuji-In:** Numbered Seal, lower ranked than the Imperial Seal (to be explained in ARC II)

**(3) In-no-Chikara:** Power of the Seal (to be explained in ARC II)

_

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_

**A/N: **Review review! =333 Yay. Long enough? Haha. Next up is the Epilogue and Arc I will officially end. ^^


	12. Arc I: Epilogue

**Hana Matsuri – Flower Festival (****花祭****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**Mooooona**** & Lack_Honesty & ****loyalizta_01****:** You can now read chapter 9 here: **_http:// haerjun. wordpress. com /2008 /12 /24 / hana-matsuri-chapter-9 / _** . Remove the spaces please. =3

**Harry Draco Malfoy ****: **_(poor Hana, why the hell Rukawa attacks Hana...I hope the full explanation will be explaine in the epiloque or in the 2nd arc?)_ Because… Rukawa is a killer. The simple reason is this as of now.

_(BTW, do also explaine the status and what sendoh said 5 peoples who didnt want to reveal there status? Who is that 5 people and how many status are there?)_ This will be known in Arc II because it has something to do with the hereditary.

_(Prince? Hana is a prince? but is he a good or bad price since all of them seems like awnt toprevent his awakening or something...)_ Again, Arc II contains the explanation. It is not that everyone doesn't want him to awake, just that it is too dangerous for him to awake in the current situation.

**A/N:** I am wrong in making you people wait. .||| Been busy with Cosplay and making clothes for my BJD. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

* * *

**Epilogue**

Before Rukawa had moved into the house, Sendoh once told Hanamichi of a story about love. He said it was something that he heard from his teacher.

_There was once a girl who was in love with a man. The man died and she committed suicide. She stood before the Buddha after her death. The Buddha asked her if she wanted to reincarnate. She replied, "I__ don't think there would be any love that could be as perfect as the one I had. Buddha, you once said that to have the destiny to walk past each other in this life, we must have five thousand times of eye contact in the previous life. And to have the destiny to meet, we have to walk past each other for five thousand times in the life before. So to be able to fall in love with each other, how many times we do have met in our previous to have such fate? If I were to give up now, how could I find it again? So I would rather reincarnate, and meet him again."_

Sendoh paused and asked the innocent boy, "Hana, do you think she is right?"

Hanamichi nodded, then shook his head, but nodded again, confusion showing on his face. "Hmm… I don't know."

Sendoh laughed and continued the story.

_Buddha said__, "Since you believe in karma, then let me bring you to the beginning of your fate with him."_

_The girl followed Buddha through space and time, finally stopping beside a lake. There was a corpse at the lake side. A woman's body._

"_This was you before the many rounds of reincarnations, you've been dead for a few days, but no one bothered."_

_At that point of time, from afar, came a young hunter. He saw the corpse and took out a piece of animal hide to cover up the dead body before leaving._

_The girl replied, "I see it now, Buddha, let's go." But Buddha asked her to wait._

_One day passed by, and then two days were gone. The body began to rot. On the third day, a passing scholar saw the body full of maggots. He began to dig a hole and it took him one whole day to finally dig a big enough one. He slowly carried the dead body and put it into the hole before burying it properly._

_Buddha said, "Did you see that? He is your true love. Back then, the spirit of yours came to me and swore that you will marry this man."_

_The girl wept, "Then why, Buddha, why did he leave me in every of my life?"_

_Buddha shook his head and replied, "He didn't leave, he kept waiting for you. It is you who didn't wait for him. In every life, you will meet that hunter first, who is now your dead boyfriend. And in every life, you mistaken the hunter as the one you are waiting for."_

"_What about the scholar?"_

_Buddha laughed, "Every time he came by, you have already killed yourself because of the death of the hunter. Therefore, you two didn't even have the chance to meet. The scholar had come crying in front of me for many times too. Little miss, will you kill yourself again?"_

"Haha," Sendoh laughed. "Hana, that girl is a very determined girl, so she went through time and space to verify the situation again and again. She realized, maybe what Buddha said could be true."

"Of course, he is Buddha."

"Right, he is trustable, but he doesn't have to be obeyed."

"What?"

"That girl thought, one day, if she falls in love with the scholar, it will not be because of reincarnations and karmas. The only bond between her and her lifelong partner will be pure love. Hana, that girl said, 'I don't believe in Buddha, but I believe in love. Reincarnation is nothing, but a dream.'"

**HANA MONOGATARI ARC I: HANA MATSURI**

**-END-  
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**A/N: **This is just a story that I read from somewhere. I wanted to write it to show Sendoh's view on love. He wants Hanamichi to truly fall in love with him out of true love, not because of anything else.

Ok, Arc I is over. Please continue to support Arc II: Hana Maizou. =3 It will not be a separate story, I will continue posting under this title.


	13. Arc II: Prelude

**Hana Monogatari – Flower Tale (****花物语****)**

**Arc I: Hana**** Maizou – Flower Burial (****花葬****)**

By Hal

**Prelude**

_The line of destiny in your hand_

_Is a secret that cannot be revealed_

_I think it is a forbidden place _

_That I can never enter _

_Am I in the heart of your palm_

_Or am I just waiting in the dream_

_In the vast sky and earth_

_I seek for an unknown feeling_

_Is it a predestined fate for me_

_To fall in love with you_

_In the dark night_

_You always appear in my dreams_

_But the heart ache is _

_A lifelong imprisonment_

_Open your palm and let me see_

_The secret that is so mysterious_

_Let me confirm if there _

_Truly exists you and me_

_Open up your palm_

_Hold on to my love_

_Don't use too much strength_

_It will hurt my heart_

_And break your heart (1)_

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"I'm not a heterosexual, nor a homosexual. The one I fall in love with is not a woman, not a man; it is just you. Is such love wrong? You are a man, or a woman, it doesn't matter. Because it is you, that's why I love you."

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"Love is to let go."

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"Why is love so…complicated?"

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(1) This is the lyrics for a Chinese song called _Zhang Xin_(Palm) by Wu Yin Liang Pin.

**A/N:** Can you guess these three sentences were spoken by who? ^^ Arc II will have a lot of complications (I don't know how to start!!! –cries-) and it will not be mainly focused on the present Hanamichi, Rukawa, Sendoh and the rest. So don't expect to see them in every chapter.


	14. Arc II: Chapter 1

**Arc II: Hana Maizou – Flower Burial (****花葬****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**Kaiser Washington** Sendoh's indeed unloved. We need to shower him with more love. -hugs Sendoh!- But you only got 1/3 right. They come from 3 different people. First sentence is by Rukawa (kind of), second is by Sendoh (kind of) and third is by Hanamichi (kind of).

**Tina Caps ** thank you for your support!

**A/N: **Happy New Year. Hope 2009 will be a good year! Happy Birthday Rukawa!!! Though you don't appear in this chapter. Haha. Ooops! Thank you for all those who put story alerts on this. ^^ Also, thanks to those who put me as favourite author. I'm touched. This chapter is for all those who supported me, either by reviewing or putting alerts. Thank you!

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**Chapter 1: The Generals**

Darkness, black and deep. Two figures were fighting in front of him. He could barely make out their outline. The slightly taller figure pressed a short pole against the other's double-bladed katana. Their mouths were moving but he could hear nothing of what they said. Then the two figures started to fade off.

"Wait!" He reached out a hand. But a burst of white light threw him back and then, he woke up. Fluttering his eyelids, he tried to see. But it was still dark, like he was looking into a vast piece of black canvas. He opened his dried mouth a couple of times before he could say anything.

"Wa..ter…" he mumbled weakly. His throat hurt. "Give…me…wa…ter…"

"The Prince is awake! Youhei-sama!!"

A shrill female voice rang from his left and he heard running footsteps along with the fading voice. Then, two sets of footsteps returned to his bedside.

"My Prince," Youhei's voice sounded somewhere to his right. Someone, maybe Youhei, placed something hard against his mouth, and the cooling feel of water licked at his dried lips. He gulped at the liquid, the cold water washed past his dehydrated mouth and soothed his hurting throat.

"Do you want more?" Youhei asked after Hanamichi had finished the whole cup. Hanamichi shook his head.

"Then eat something," Youhei fed the slightly weak Hanamichi some porridge.

"Can you on the light?" After the meal, Hanamichi asked.

"Light?" Youhei could not understand Hanamichi's request.

"I can't see anything, it's so dark. Why are we sitting in the dark?" Hanamichi sat up on the bed and blinked his eyes.

The little maid who called for Youhei breathed in loudly. She looked with her eyes wide, opening and closing her mouth for a couple of times. Youhei put a finger to his lips before waving a hand in front of Hanamichi. The brown eyes reflected the waving hand, but they did not blink, nor did the boy have any change in expression. The eyes did not see the hands. They did not register any image or light. Youhei gestured for the maid to leave the room but to keep the matter to herself.

"My Prince," kneeling beside the bed, Hanamichi's best friend held the red head's hand in his own. His voice was soft.

"Will you stop calling me that?" Hanamichi frowned. "Why isn't the light on yet? The darkness is irritating me. I can't even see where to punch you!"

"The room is bright enough, the sun has not gone down yet," Youhei said slowly as he tightened his grip on the big warm hand.

"Oh," the red head went silent for a while. Then he pulled his hand away from Youhei's and touched his own face. His fingers moved up towards his eyes, slowly brushing over them, feeling the eyelashes. His eyes were open, there was nothing covering them either. But he could not see. His hand slowly slid down his face and fell on the blanket.

"Hanamichi," Youhei called his name this time. He was worried about how this headstrong boy would take the truth. Hanamichi's hands grabbed the blanket tightly, his knuckles white.

"Youhei," he turned his head to where he last heard Youhei speak. Youhei moved slightly just so that he would be right in front of Hanamichi's slightly raised face. Even though he knew Hanamichi cannot see him, he wanted to be at a position as if his best friend and master could actually see. "I'm…I'm blind…?"

Hanamichi raised the end of the word "blind", turning the sentence into a question. He wanted, no, he needed some kind of confirmation. He believed in Youhei more than he believed in himself.

The black hair man nodded his head reluctantly, his lips tightly pressed together. Then remembering that his friend could not see, he squeezed out a "yes" through gritted teeth.

Youhei's voice sounded bad, worse than crying. The boy on the bed kept quiet, allowing the truth to sink in. He could not see. He could not play basketball anymore; he could not see the beauty of the flowers, the majestic sunrise and sunset; he could not look at the faces of his friends nor see his enemies. He was now a… blind person. His fingers dug into the blanket harder. But headstrong as he was, Hanamichi did not let any drop of tears escape from his tear ducts. Taking a deep breath, he spoke with a calm tone.

"Don't worry Youhei, I'm a Tensai, I will recover soon. Haha," Hanamichi's hand crept across the blanket and finally patted Youhei's hand.

"Ha…Hanamichi…" Youhei tried to force a happier tone.

"You sound worse than crying, are you doubting the Tensai's ability?" Hanamichi threatened, his chin slightly raised, just like his old self.

Youhei smiled slightly and he wanted to hug this stubborn boy in front of him but now that they had return to this world, their status was different so he could not do anything like that. In fact, calling him "Hanamichi" and holding his hand were already beyond his rights.

Hanamichi started sniffing the air suddenly and asked, "This isn't the hospital, right? It doesn't smell like my room or Sendoh's house. There is this weirdly pleasant smell. Where are we?"

"Ahem," Youhei suddenly remembered that he had a rather difficult task to do. He needed to prepare Hanamichi for the truth of his birth and this world. He felt a headache creeping in, he could not imagine how Hanamichi would take the news. Standing up, he decided to fetch the Grand General and the rest of the Generals. At least he could have some moral support.

"My Prince, let me fetch the Grand General and the other Generals before answering your question." With that, he fled from the room.

"What Prince, what General?" Hanamichi frowned, tilting his head to where Youhei should be standing. Youhei was confusing him more and more. Hearing no reply, Hanamichi knew that his best friend had left the room. "YOUHEI MITO! COME BACK!"

"Hmph, I may be blind now, but I will recover soon! You just look out, Youhei. Bullying me when I'm blind, you will regret it," Hanamichi fumed as he cracked his knuckles.

Not used to been unable to see, Hanamichi spent quite a while getting out of the bed. He was dressed in a long sleeved shirt and a pair of loose pants. Without having to look at his clothing, he could feel that they were not something suitable for wandering around in a strange place, but at least he was dressed. Stretching his hands in front of him, he slowly made his way around the room. Soon, bangs and curses could be heard from the room.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Hanamichi shouted as his toes made contact with another hard object. Hopping on one foot, he fell against the wall, but only half his body felt the hard wall.

"Yes! The door," Hanamichi made a "V" sign to himself. "Haha, I'm the Tensai! Lalala…ouf!"

"Ouf!" The thing he bumped into let out a sound too. Oh wait, it should not be a "thing", it should be a person.

"Which idiot's blocking my way?"

"Watch where you are going! Are you blind?"

Two voices scolded at the same time.

"I'm blind, so what?" Hanamichi countered. He really was blind anyway.

"Tsk! Don't fool me. Your eyes are so bright, how can you be blind? Want to lie? Say something more credible." The other taunted.

"What? How dare you say the Tensai is lying? I will show you what will become of you for doubting the Tensai!" Hanamichi rolled up his sleeves.

"Ha! Tensai? How arrogant. You look more like an idiot walking around in your sleep wear in the bright day light. Come on, face me!"

"YOU!" Hanamichi turned to where the voice was coming from. But before he could deliver a punch, a voice full of authority called for stop.

"General Miyagi, don't tell me you want to fight the Prince." The voice belonged to a tall and well-built man. His shoulders were broad and the aura surrounding him commanded respect and submission. But of course, Hanamichi could not see this. In the meanwhile, Youhei had already appeased the almost raging red head and led him to sit down on a couch near the window.

"Prince? He's the Prince?" General Miyagi Ryota let out an unbelieving shout.

"Tsk tsk, you don't even recognize the one you are serving. Even if you don't know how he looks like, you should see his red hair. Sometimes I wonder how you become a General," General Mitsui Hisashi teased with a smirk.

"Hmph, I wonder who used to be a thief," Miyagi retorted.

"Chief bandit, not thief," Mitsui replied with a smug tone.

"Alright, you two stop it," the soft-spoken General Kogure Kiminobu walked into the room and ordered the two childish Generals to behave themselves. "And Hisashi, chief bandit is not much better than a thief."

"Haha!" Miyagi laughed at Mitsui who shot him a death glare but left the argument as that. He did not want to anger Kogure. No one in their right mind would anger Kogure. Though Kogure Kiminobu appeared to be a soft-spoken and gentle man, he was definitely scarier than Akagi when he got angry.

"What are you two still standing at the door way for? Come here now!" Akagi's voice boomed.

The four Generals stood before Hanamichi – Akagi and Kogure on the right, Mitsui and Miyagi on the left – and Youhei stood beside the couch.

"My Prince," Youhei said. "Standing before you are the Generals of our clan. First on the right is Grand General Akagi Takenori. In the battle twenty years ago, he was merely a Vice General but it was him who led our soldiers to victory and saved your life. He rose up to the position of Grand General just five years ago. General Akagi, please greet our Prince. His eyes were injured during the Cross Over, so he is blinded. Let him remember you by your voice first."

Some sort of emotion swept past the four standing Generals' faces but they quickly returned to a serious look.

"Akagi Takenori pays respect to my Prince," General Akagi knelt down on his right knee and placed his right fist on his left chest.

"My Prince, please ask the General to rise," Youhei bent down and gently whispered into Hanamichi's ear.

"Please rise," Hanamichi said.

"Behind General Akagi is General Kogure Kiminobu. All the high officials of the clan are given the title General even if they are not warriors and do not fight in the war itself. General Kogure is one such General. He is the advisor for the clan, his tactics have helped us greatly in our wars. He can be considered as the brain of the clan," Youhei tried to explain the position of this non-fighting General in a way that Hanamichi could understand. "On your left are General Mitsui Hisashi and General Miyagi Ryota. They are both great warriors and their skills can almost compare to that of the Grand General. They have been following and assisting the Grand General ever since he took up the post."

"Kogure Kiminobu pays respect to my Prince."

"Mitsui Hisashi pays respect to my Prince."

"Miyagi Ryota pays respect to my Prince, and apologizes for his rude ways just now. I did not know you are the Prince and that your eyes are truly injured."

All three paid their respect to the red head sitting on the couch and Hanamichi had also asked them to rise.

"So…" Hanamichi dragged his word, like he was thinking. "What's your post then, Youhei?"

"I'm just a small Vice General following General Kogure," Youhei answered politely. He was actually surprised that Hanamichi was taking this in so readily.

"And my personal entertainer now," Hanamichi said.

"I don't understand you, my Prince," Youhei was truly puzzled by Hanamichi's reply.

"Will you stop it, Youhei?" Hanamichi slapped his palm on the couch. "This joke is getting too far. What General, what war? This is not funny anymore! If you are not going to stop this ridiculous acting, I'm going to serve you the Tensai's famous headbutt! I don't care where you find these people to go along with you, just get me to the hospital and cure my eyes now!"

_I knew it! He was just suppressing his anger just now. I knew he will explode with all these things going on,_ Youhei sighed to himself as he rubbed his temples.

The four Generals stared at the Vice General, who was also the guardian of their Prince (he was the only one who knew Hanamichi well enough to serve him properly).

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**A/N: **So hard, it's so hard to put my ideas into words. Boohooo! I want reviews! Reward my hard work with reviews please!


	15. Arc II: Chapter 2

**Arc II: Hana Maizou – Flower Burial (****花葬****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**Sumomo89: ** Thank you for your greetings. I hope this chapter will answer some of your doubts.

**Mikage resha: ** The problem is this entire messy new world he is in now. =D

**Tina Caps: ** Wheee! Updated. ^.^

**Lack_Honesty: ** Thank you for your continuous support!

**Momiji: ** Go go go! Hentai scene, wheee! Haha. *waves RuHana banner as well*

**A/N: **School has started. I hope this semester I will get straight As. If not, I will have to wave goodbye to my First Class Honours. –sad-

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**Chapter 2: The Blindness  
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"Grand General," Youhei bit his lips. "Could you please wait outside the room together with the others while I try to… ahem… sooth our Prince's anger?"

"You have not told him about Seikai yet?" General Akagi frowned. An ignorant Prince would be even more deadly than a smart enemy.

Youhei looked back at the Grand General with a sad face; his eyes were saying that he did try to do so. General Akagi nodded and, together with the other three, reported their leaving to the red head.

The black haired Vice General sighed and knelt down beside Hanamichi's couch, so that his face was level with Hanamichi's. He held Hanamichi's hand in his own and said in a sincere tone.

"Hanamichi, when have I ever lied to you?"

"Ne…never…" Hanamichi twisted uncomfortably in the couch.

"Then why would I go to such extend and trouble to whip up unbelievable stories if all these are not real?"

"I… I don't know."

"Believe me, Hanamichi. I only want to protect you and I will never betray your trust," Youhei's voice was full of sincerity and honesty. Hanamichi knew that his best friend would never lie to him but…

"But… you expect me to believe that I am a Prince and there are Generals and wars? Youhei, the Tensai might have failed his History, but this is the twenty-first century Japan and I'm very certain that I'm in no way related to our Emperor."

"I know, Hanamichi. It is really hard to make you believe what is going on now because you cannot see. I'm not trying to dig at your wounds, but if you can see, you will know you are no longer in the same world as you used to be.

After Sendoh had pushed you into the portal back in Japan, you are no longer dealing with the ordinary Earth you have lived on for almost twenty years. The portal is a connection point between Earth and this new world. You have crossed over to Seikai, which is the name of this world.

We will find a way to treat your eyes as soon as possible and once you can see, you will know that we are not making up stories. Hanamichi, do you believe in me?" Youhei said all these slowly, giving Hanamichi time to take up all these new information. The boy on the couch did not interrupt Youhei. The sincerity in Youhei's voice was gradually convincing him that this was real. While whatever Youhei had said was all too puzzling and unbelievable for him, Youhei had also never lied to him before.

"Youhei…" Hanamichi said. "The things about Seikai and Prince and Generals and wars sound rather scary, even the Tensai has never encountered before. But as a Tensai, and a Prince, I am not afraid of challenges and the unknowns. I will eliminate all problems and stand on top of the world! Hahaha!"

Hanamichi laughed his boisterous laughter while standing up to put his two hands on his waist. Youhei sweatdropped at the sudden change in mood but the corners of his lips lifted. At least this simple-minded boy was beginning to accept the facts.

"You are Tensai's friend, you will assist me in the great plan to conquer the world!" It might seem liked an arrogant exclamation from the red head, but Youhei knew that behind these words was a soul that was feeling scared and lost in the dark unknown world it was thrown into unexpectedly.

Youhei smiled brightly for his best friend and reached up to rub the boy's soft red hair. Since young, he would do this every time he wanted to re-assure the younger boy.

"Yes, I will, my Prince."

Having settled the problem, Youhei invited the Generals in again.

"My Prince, as I have learnt from Vice General Youhei, you might have hit your head in the turbulence when you crossed over, thus leading to your blindness. Such blindness can be cured if we can pin-point the exact cause of blindness. Please allow me to do a thorough check on your eyes and brain before we think of a cure," one of the Generals spoke.

"Youhei?" the red head tilted his head. From the gentleness in the voice, he could roughly recognize it to be the General with the advisor role.

"Besides being our advisor, General Kogure is the most highly skilled doctor in the country. He is said to have the power to revive the dead," Youhei explained.

"Revive the dead? Really?" Hanamichi felt excited.

"Vice General Youhei is exaggerating. Your lowly subject only knows a little about the way of medicines," General Kogure said humbly.

"I don't know about reviving people, but trust me; General Kogure is indeed the most powerful doctor on this piece of land."

Hanamichi recognized this voice to be that of Mitsui Hisashi's.

"Ok," he nodded his red head. "But can we stop calling each other by the titles? Isn't it tiring? Youhei is Youhei, Kogure is Kogure, why do you have to add Vice General or General in front of the names? It's such a mouthful. I hate it. You guys know your own positions, you don't need people to remind you that you are a General or a Prince or a King every time they speak to you, right? Can't we just call names directly?"

"My Prince…" General Akagi spoke. "This is a formality passed down from generation to generation. It is a sign of respect. Of course, you can directly call your subjects by names."

"No. Just by listening to you people call 'General this General that' is making me irritated enough. Since you are my subjects, you have to listen to me. I command all of you to call everyone by names only!" Hanamichi ordered.

"But…"

"No but!" General Ryota's sentence was cut short by Hanamichi's decisive tone. "I thought all subjects should listen to their Prince?"

"Alright, we shall call everyone without titles," Youhei knew it is useless to argue with Hanamichi. "Gen…ahem… Akagi, we shall always follow our Prince's command, right?"

"Yes," Akagi replied curtly.

"Now that is settled, please let Kogure check your eyes, my Prince," Youhei gently spoke.

"YOUHEI!" Hanamichi gritted his teeth.

"We will call each other by names but not yours, you are our Prince after all, it is disrespectful, please understand our situation. What would the other countries think of us if they hear us call our Generals by names? Wouldn't it be worse if we start calling our Prince by his name too? This is a matter of national pride," knowing his best friend is always weak against things such as loyalty and dignity, Youhei reasoned.

Hanamichi really wished that he was not blind at this moment. He wanted to grab Youhei by his shoulders and give him a real hard head-butt. But he could not. So all he did was to ball up his fists and throw a whole lot of vulgarities at his best friend.

"Fine! I know I'll never be able to win you in any argument," he ruffled his red hair. "As long as we behave ourselves in front of other people, it will be alright then? Let's take a compromise, everyone, including me, calls everyone by their names when there is no outsiders. In front of other people, we maintain our formality. Ok?"

Youhei looked at his direct boss and then at the Grand General. Both nodded so he agreed to Hanamichi's conditions.

Before Youhei's sentence could end, three cheers could be heard simultaneously.

"Yes! I've won this time, hahahaha."

"Finally, I can stop this formality for a while."

"Wahaha, I'm beginning to like you, Hanamichi. Wow, that sounds awesome. Wahaha."

The first belonged to Hanamichi, second was Mitsui and the third was Ryota. Both Akagi and Kogure rolled their eyes slightly (these guys were just like big kids) while Youhei just smiled (this was just so Hanamichi's way of things, he was not the kind of person to be restricted by rules and regulations).

After this small interruption, Youhei managed to keep Hanamichi still enough for Kogure to check his eyes. Just as Kogure finished his inspection, Hanamichi's request of food arrived. He was famished after been in coma for so long so he was gobbling down the sandwiches as fast as he could while listening to Kogure's diagnosis.

"Well, the turbulence from the portal hit your head and now there is a blood clot that is pressing against the optic nerve…"

"Uh…" Hanamichi let out a groan suddenly and started hugging his stomach, the half-bitten sandwich fell from his hand.

"What's wrong?" Youhei and Kogure both asked.

"Is there something wrong with the sandwich?" Mitsui added.

Hanamichi shook his head before saying weakly, "I ate too fast so my stomach hurts…"

Everyone else in the room fell to a silence, if Hanamichi could see, he would probably see three dark lines appearing on each and everyone's forehead.

"…" Akagi was speechless. Why was the Prince such a… idiot?

Ryota's burst of laughter broke the silence and he was laughing so hard that he was clutching his stomach and almost rolling on the floor.

"Who's laughing at the Tensai?" Hanamichi roared. How dared someone laugh at the Tensai's misery? "You are looking for a beating!"

"Tensai?" Mitsui questioned. "That's even funnier than your stupidity just now. Hahaha, hahaha…"

Mitsui joined Ryota on the floor.

"You!" Hanamichi slammed his fist down on the couch and stood up.

"Alright! It's enough you two! Mind your manners in front of the Prince," Kogure chided.

"Haha…yes…Hahaha…Kogure…Haha…" Both Generals tried to stifle their laughter but it seemed just a bit hard to do so.

"Take a few deep breathes, my Prince," after making Hanamichi sat down again, Kogure advised as he slowly stroke the Prince's back, soothing his discomfort.

"Hanamichi," the seated boy replied.

"Yes, my… Hanamichi," Kogure, who always abided by the rules, felt awkward calling his Prince's name directly. "Do you feel better? Ok, please eat slowly now. As I was saying, the blood clot is pressing against the optic nerve, hence causing the blindness."

"Remove the blood clot then," Hanamichi said nonchalantly.

"That is easier said than done, Hanamichi," Kogure replied politely.

"You can look into my head to see the blood clot, why can't you remove the blood clot? Just give me an operation, I want to be able to see again."

"Operation?" Kogure did not understand.

"Hanamichi, we have yet to have the skills and abilities to do operations in this world," Youhei came to the rescue.

"Oh, then how did Kogure see into my head? Surely, he did some X-Ray or whatever it was…"

"No. This is called the _Acuta Vae_ spell. _Acuta Vae_ means "sharpened eye" and it is a highly difficult spell to master but extremely useful. It gives the physician the ability to see different parts of the body clearly, whether it is an organ or muscle tissue, as long as the physician focused his mind power on the specific part. You can say it is something like an X-Ray eyes, just that it is even more powerful," Youhei explained.

"Wow! Kogure, you must be really good to know such a powerful spell!" Hanamichi exclaimed. "Then you must also know of a way to cure me, right?"

"The blood clot can be dispersed by hitting it with a pulse of force. But as the brain is a complex organ, it is too risky. A small mistake can cause damage to the brain," Kogure remarked.

"Is there any other ways?" Youhei asked.

"No…" Kogure sighed.

Hanamichi's thoughts were now chaotic. His blindness could never be cured… he could never see things again…

"I'm going to be blind forever…"

"You must know of something, Kogure!" Youhei could not bear to see his best friend so dejected.

After a long pause, Kogure spoke again, "There is a way to protect the brain from the harm of any physical force or spell."

"How?" Hanamichi's head jerked up with hope.

"_Gogyoku_," came the short reply and there a couple of exclamations from the other Generals.

"What's that?" Hanamichi's puzzled by the others' reactions. Was this _Gogyoku_ really such a scary thing?

"_Gogyoku_, literally means Protecting Jade. It is the national treasure of Shoyo for it is the symbol of the King. The power of the _Gogyoku_ is that when it is activated, it will cast an invisible barrier to protect all parts of the body against any kind of physical harm, be it strong or weak. The special thing about this barrier is that it only protects what rightfully belongs to the body, any abnormal substances or objects will not be within this barrier. We can safely disperse the blood clot without worrying about harming your brain tissues."

"Shoyo? That sounds like the name of a school back home… Is it the name of this country I'm in? Anyway, this _Gogyoku_ sounds like some great thing! Though I don't really understand what you said. Hahaha. Ok, Let's go and get it now! Since I'm the Prince, I'm sure the King will lend it to me," Hanamichi had already stood up and prepared to leave.

"Wait, Shoyo is the neighbouring country. _Gogyoku_ is a national treasure after all, I'm afraid Shoyo King would not be willing to lend us such a precious item. We have little connections with them after all," Akagi worried.

"Argh! Then what are we going to do?" Ryota scratched his head.

"If I have to, I can always use my old method…" Mitsui offered.

"No. It is the Palace of Shoyo we are talking about, Mitsui! No matter how good your stealing skills are, you can never walk in and out of the Palace as you like!" Kogure reprimanded.

"If I may trouble Grande General Akagi, please contact Sen…Prince Sendoh of Ryonan. He has good connections with Shoyo and might be able to help us persuade the Shoyo King," Youhei suggested.

"Right!" Ryota slapped his fist onto his palm. "There's always Sendoh!"

"Sendoh? Akira? He's from this world too, right? Youhei? Where is he?" Hanamichi grabbed Youhei's hand. Though he had only known Sendoh Akira for a couple of months, he felt an unexplainable sense of security with the matured boy around.

"He has gone back to his own country, he is the Prince of Ryonan," Youhei patted Hanamichi's hand.

"Why are all the names of the countries similar to the names of schools back home? What's our countries' name?"

"Well… I really don't know why. Our country is called Shohoku."

"Haha! Just like our high school, Youhei! This is funny! Haha," Hanamichi laughed.

"My Prin… Hanamichi, I shall go with Ryota to contact Sendoh," Akagi said. "We shall take our leave now."

"It has been a long day for you, Hanamichi," Kogure bowed slightly to the red hair boy on the couch. "We shall not keep you from your rest and take our leave now."

"Good night, Hanamichi," Mistui followed, with a tone of politeness.

"Hanamichi, don't think too much. I promise you will know more about this world when your body recovers," Youhei patted Hanamichi's hand and led him to his bed. "Now, sleep well. You won't be able to rest well once we go on a long journey, which might even start tomorrow."

"I swear you will excel as a nanny, Youhei!" Hanamichi stuck out his tongue before climbing into his bed.

Youhei chuckled as he left the room with Kogure and Mitsui.

_Well, from now on, I shall lead the adventurous live of a Prince! I wonder if I have to slay any demon…_ Hanamichi thoughts drift off as he fell into a slumber.

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**A/N: **Yay! Another chapter. Hurhur! I'm going to have a photoshoot tomorrow, cosplaying a character from Final Fantasy Agito XIII. Any FF fans? =3 Reviews please. *waves -give me reviews!- banner*


	16. Arc II: Chapter 3

**Arc II: Hana Maizou – Flower Burial (****花葬****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**A/N:** Sorry for taking so long and missed V. day and Sendoh's birthday. I got writer's block!-shoots self!- I wonder if anyone gave up on the story… The reviewers seem to have stopped. Oops, I think my slow pace's putting everyone off the story.

**Sillyme:** *hugs!* thanks for your review.

**Hatealone:** I hope you are still reading this… though I'm going at a snail's pace.

**Harry Draco Malfoy:** Introducing Seikai… (someone saves me from insanity, please!)

**Lack_Honesty:** 12 kingdoms, LOL! I read too many Chinese novels, thus the influence.

**Others:** Those who had put story alerts… finally, I'm triggering some emails to your inbox. Hurhur. -gets bricked by everyone-

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**Chapter 3: Seikai – The Divine World**

Seikai, as its name suggested, was a piece of mysterious land unlike Earth. Science and technology were not as advanced as those on Earth, but they were not needed here. Magical would be the best word to describe this world full of spells and curses, fightings and wars, Princes and Kings, Vampyres and Elves, Unicorns and Dragons.

The earliest history record of this place was dated five thousand years ago, but taking the lifespan of the people in Seikai into consideration, such a period was not considered long. Legend had it that Seikai was formed out of the void five thousand years ago and for hundreds of years, no beings roam on the land. No one knew where the beings came from, but two thousand years after the formation of Seikai, four superior races rose and gradually, they were living with equal status on the only known piece of land on Seikai – Kanagawa.

Kanagawa was a piece of vast land with thick forest spanning out on the west, mountains across the north, desert on the east and the ocean spread out from the south. The names of these places were simply The Trees, The Mountains, The Sand and The Water. No one had ventured through these forest, mountains, desert and ocean to find out if there were other lands or species living in the same world as them. So to the people of Kanagawa, Seikai remained as a mysterious place where they had yet to fully discover.

Two large rivers divided the piece of land into the various countries. River Ryuugumo (River Flowing Cloud) separated Shoyo from Shohoku and Kainan while River Natsuhoshi (River Summer Star) marked the borders between Kainan and Ryonan and Shohoku. The Yamibei (Dark Wall), a long tall dark wall, was built between Ryonan and Shohoku.

Shohoku, the smallest empire among the four, was Hanamichi's home town. To its north was The Mountains and to the east, a tiny stretch of what was the biggest desert of Kanagawa – The Sand. The people of Shohoku were descendents of Vampyres. Hanamichi actually fell over the railings and into the river upon hearing that.

Spluttering, after been pulled up from the river, he had asked, "Do I really have to drink blood?"

Youhei chuckled and explained to the rest of the puzzled crew that Vampyres were rumoured to be blood-thirsty monsters back on Earth. After warming Hanamichi up with a hot drink, Kogure told the distressed boy that Vampyres in this world did not rely on drinking blood for survival. They were neither immortal nor were they afraid of the sun or garlic or salt for that matter. Vampyres had a life span of four to five hundred years with the first twenty years growing at a rate like that of the Humans. After that, their growth seemed to stop and only resumed to aging slowly at around three hundred and fifty years old. Vampyres were indeed born in such a way that ingesting blood could improve their powers, and the lengthening of canines into what we called "fangs" was a sign of blood consumption. However, few Vampyres actually did perform such act as only the blood from highly powered beings could bring about such temporary power-enhancing effect.

The Vampyres was a race with torn history. It was said that three thousand years ago, _In-no-ko_ (Child of the Seal), the guardians sent by Heaven, lead each of the four superior races to split the Kanagawa land into four countries. Each race, and country, had their own _In-no-ko_, but Shohoku had two In-no-ko – the _Akai Go-In_ (Red Imperial Seal) and the _Kuroi Go-In _(Black Imperial Seal).

Since the majority of the Vampyres were welders of the element _Kurai_ (Darkness), they believed that the _Kuroi Go-In_ was their rightful guardian and the _Akai Go-In_ was sent by the Hell instead. However, those who actually welded the element _Honoo_ (Flame) supported the _Akai Go-In._ Hence, Shohoku had two capitals, the _Kuroryuu_ (Black Flow) belonging to the _Kurai_ welders and the _Akahonoo_ (Red Flame) belonging to the _Honoo_ welders.

The two clans fought what was known as the First War of Shohoku and the _Kuroi Go-In_ won, taking all Vampyres under his rule. A wise man once made a prophecy, however, that a great person, who was believed to be the _Akai Go-In,_ would one day to restore the rights of the_ Honoo_ welding Vampyres. While the war and the prophecy were indeed written in the historical records of Shohoku, no official records existed for the presence of _Go-In, _thus many deemed them as myths. The _Honoo_ welders believed strongly in the old prophecy and they secretly formed an organization, known only to the pure bloods of _Honoo_ welders as the Ring, in hope to have military aids ready for their guardian should he return. And Hanamichi was the Prince of _Akahonoo_. His destiny was believed to be restoring the powers of the _Honoo_ Vampyres.

To the east of Shohoku was Shoyo, resting at the edge of The Trees. It was generally a land of greens and the legendary Guardian of Shoyo was the_ Midori Go-In _(Green Imperial Seal). The race living on this peaceful land was the Unicorns. They mainly maintained the human form during daily lives but when in battle, they could transform to the speedy mystical creature. They were a gentle race with an average life span of seven hundred years or so.

Below Shohoku was Ryonan, the country where Sendoh Akira belonged to. It set its capital in the _Ryo_ (_Ryo_ from Ryonan) and it had access to both The Sand and The Water, the only ocean known to Kanagawa. Ryonan was the home to the elegant Elves and their Guardian was the _Aoi Go-In_ (Blue Imperial Seal). While swift and agile in combat, Elves were however, more well-known for their talent in casting shields. They had a life span similar to the Vampyres.

The largest country in Kanagawa was Kainan,with its capital sharing the same name as the country, it truly reflected the aggressiveness of the Dragons. Like the Unicorns, they only transformed into their true form when in battles. The _Kin Go-In_ (Golden Imperial Seal) took upon the role of the Kainan's guardian. The Dragons had the longest life span among the four races and they could live up to a thousand year. Hence, the current king of Kainan was only the fourth one while the other countries had already changed six or seven kings.

They had spent five days on the ship, travelling along the big River Ryuugumo. It was the fastest way to reach the Shogyoku _(Sho was taken from the country name Shoyo and Gyoku was taken from their national treasure. Shogyoku's literal meaning was Soaring Jade)_, the capital of Shoyo. Using the special badges distributed to merchants, which Akagi had obtained for them through his networks, they were able to land and enter the boundaries of Shoyo. From there, they travelled on horse and carriage. As Akagi was needed in the army, he did not accompany in them in this secret trip. Youhei, Ryota and Mitsui were on horseback. It did not take much to dissuade Hanamichi from riding horseback as well. One simple but totally valid reason was that he could not see and thus riding a horse for the first time would be too dangerous for him. So sat he did in the carriage with Kogure, Hanamichi wiped clean yet another plate of sweet Sakura cake while listening to Kogure talk about the amazing Akari flower.

"So you are saying there are no stars in this world?" Hanamichi's eyes were round with surprise. "Aw man, you guys are missing out on something really beautiful!"

"I'm sure stars are beautiful in the sky, but we have our Akari flowers which are our stars on the ground. If you fly up in the sky at night, you can see the tiny dots of light emitted by the flowers, and they usually grow in clusters. The light does twinkle as well," Kogure reached out to brush off a crumb at the corner of the boy's mouth.

"Really? Then we should call them Hoshi flowers instead. Don't you think the word Hoshi is nicer? I like Hoshi."

Kogure found that his red hair Prince might seem like a clumsy boy at the first look, but his heart was soft and gentle, especially when talking about things he liked. Kogure could not help but to like Hanamichi. Those smiles and laughter always probed at his motherly nature to love this innocent (and sometimes a little silly) twenty-year-old boy. Observant as he was, Kogure knew that his comrades took a liking for this sunshine boy too. During the short time they had back home, he had noticed Akagi's stern face soften at times when looking at Hanamichi's sleeping face. To Mitsui and Ryota, he was almost like a brother. They could never end a day without bickering or getting little fights. There was no air of superior-subordinates among them. They were close friends. He could never imagine them - Prince and Generals - behaving in such ways but Hanamichi apparently had the power and charm to make it happen.

The journey to Shoyo had been a long one but Kogure spent every day educating Hanamichi on details of Seikai, filling in the information a Prince should know. Kogure was a good and effective teacher - he just seemed to know the correct way to teach Hanamichi – before long, Hanamichi had grasped the general history of Seikai.

"Hanamichi!" Mitsui's voice disrupted Hanamichi's imagination of the Akari flowers.

"What did the letter say?" the red head popped his head out of the carriage window and asked instead of replying.

"How did you know?" Mitsui's horse trotted beside the carriage at the same pace.

"I heard the pigeon land and you taking a piece of paper off it."

"Right, I forgot your hearing's way better than normal people because of your eyes," there's a tint of jealousy in the General's voice.

"You can try blinding yourself and see if your hearing is enhanced," Ryota joined in the slowed trotting beside the carriage.

"He's right, Mitsui. Maybe you can try that. Haha," Hanamichi laughed.

"Alright, main point please," Kogure butted into what would otherwise become a pointless argument.

"Prince Sendoh's reached _Shogyoku_. Once we are there, which should be in a couple of hours, he will lead us to the Shoyo King," Mitsui reported.

"Oh, I will be meeting Akira again soon!" Hanamichi said gladly. He did miss Sendoh quite a bit.

"You are very close to him to call him by his first name," Ryota commented. "Though flirtatious as he is, only a few honoured ones are allowed to call him by his first name."

"We did live together for a couple of months after all, he was the one who asked me to call him Akira," Hanamichi blushed from some embarrassing memories he shared with the hedgehog.

Mitsui and Ryota were about the probe further but Kogure pointed out that if they did not pick up pace soon, they would have to camp outside of city for the night. And thus, Hanamichi was saved from having to divulge the various sexual harassments he used to receive from the Prince of Ryonan.

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**A/N:** This is getting way out of hand and there are just so many things for me to introduce and make known to everyone. Ahhh, I'm losing my sanity. I'm always having writer's block!

Also, does anyone know where else I can post this story? fanfiction . net is… well, not a place with lots of visitors nowadays. But oh well, SD (and Ruhana) is a dying fandom… -cries-

Oh, I drew a (hilariously ugly) map of Kanagawa so you guys can know what I'm trying to describe: http:// i76. photobucket . com /albums/j9/haerjun/seikaimap. jpg


	17. Arc II: Chapter 4A

**Arc II: Hana Maizou – Flower Burial (****花葬****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**A/N:** Happy Birthday to my DEAR HANAMICHI! *chu chu chu~* In this chapter, he will be receiving lots of love. WAKAKA.

**Lack_Honesty: **It is okies. =DDDD You can slowly read my story. No worries.

**mariesol_sd: **I will try Aarinfantasy some next time. When I am more consistent with my updates (will I be ever???).

**Harry Draco Malfoy**: Soon! Chapter 5 he will regain his sight, I promise!

**Woozhing:** Thankies.

* * *

**Chapter 4A: A Night Visit**

"Hana!" With that, Hanamichi felt himself been swept into a warm embrace. He could hear Sendoh's heartbeat and smell the clean soap smell that was distinctive of the Elf Prince. Swinging his fists, Hanamichi struggled to get out of Sendoh's tightening grip.

"Baka Akira!" Hanamichi aimed a kick at where he thought to be Akira's shin. "Are you trying to suffocate me?"

"But I miss you," Sendoh blew air at Hanamichi's nape. Blushing hard, Hanamichi shoved Sendoh away and started shouting in an attempt to hide his blushing.

"Damn you Akira," Hanamichi rubbed his nape. "I'm a Prince now, respect me if not my Generals will slice you to pieces!"

Then remembering that his friends would have witnessed what happened just now, the red head's face flushed red again. He flustered to explain the situation but it seemed that everyone else did not really believe him.

"Guys, it's not what you think it is. Akira's just been irritating as usual. We are not that kind of… oi! Get off my back," Hanamichi elbowed the Sendoh who was now hugging him from behind and hanging over his arms over his shoulders.

"Aki…ahem… Prince Sendoh, please don't…" Youhei tried to stop Sendoh from disturbing Hanamichi further.

"Right, not that kind," Mitsui interrupted Youhei's attempt, grinning. He knew Sendoh Akira is obviously interested in their Prince.

"No wonder Prince Sendoh would help us so much," Miyagi added. There had to be something between these two Princes, seeing how much Hanamichi was blushing.

"Hey, you two! You have to believe me!" Hanamichi shouted.

"General Mitsui and General Miyagi, this is not the way you should speak of our Prince and the Prince of Ryonan," Kogure said. "I'm so sorry, Prince Sendoh. Please pardon these two for their indecency."

"Maa, General Kogure. Don't be so formal with me. Drop the Prince title and just call me Sendoh. It's alright. I see that Hana has been well received. It is very important that the Prince and his Generals get along well, isn't it?" Sendoh waved a hand at Kogure, with his eyes twinkling. "And they are not wrong. Hana and I are that kind of…"

"SENDOH AKIRA!" Hanamichi knocked his head backwards into Sendoh's chin. "Stop telling lies! You are making me lose face in front of my subordinates."

Letting go of Hanamichi, Sendoh rubbed his chin and apologized to the fuming red head. Regaining his seriousness, he explained that they would be going into the palace to meet the King of Shoyo that evening. That left with just slightly over two hours to rest and prepare.

After a good hearty meal, Kogure and Youhei led Hanamichi to a hot bathe. It was the first proper bathe for many days and when Hanamichi got out of the tub, his skin was glowing a healthy pink.

"I wonder what clothes Prince Sendoh had laid out for you, Hanamichi," Youhei said as he dried Hanamichi's shoulder length red hair. Indeed, Hanamichi's hair was growing at an alarming rate, a few centimeters each day.

"What? He picked the clothes for me?" Hanamichi sank further into the couch. "Why?"

"I don't know. He said you have to wear it as it will give the Shoyo King a good impression."

"Erm, my Prince," Kogure held the clothes and stood in front of his prince, his voice hesitant.

"Why the sudden formality, Kogure?" Hanamichi asked.

"This… erm…the clothes…" Kogure did not know how to tell Hanamichi.

"That pervertic hedgehog has picked something indecent right? Is it some tight leather clothes that will bare lots of skin again?" Hanamichi scowled. "Don't tell me Shoyo King has the same kind of pervertic hobby as him!"

"Eh? Hedgehog?" Kogure was puzzled.

"His nickname for Prince Sendoh." Youhei whispered before exclaiming, "Wait, you mean you wore that kind of clothes before for Prince Sendoh?"

Hanamichi's face flushed red. "Shut up! Who said I wear it before? Anyway, I'm not wearing it!"

"But you said 'again'…" Both Youhei and Kogure muttered to themselves.

"No, my Prince. The clothes he had prepared is a piece of…Kimono," Kogure said meekly, as he braced himself for an outburst.

"Oh, che, it's just Kimono! What's there to be hesitant about? It's just Kimo…hold on! You said Kimono? As in the formal Japanese female costume? What the fuck is he thinking! (Kogure squeaked, "My Prince, your language!") Get that idiotic hedgehog here right now! I'm gonna show him how much of a man I am!" Hanamichi grabbed the black and red Kimono from Kogure's hands and threw it on the floor.

"You called, my lovely Hana?" Sendoh's voice rang from the doorway as he stepped in, dressed in a flowy white robe, matching pants and a light blue sash secured around his waist. The outfit accentuated his elegance further.

"BAKA! I am not wearing female clothes!" Hanamichi hurled a tea cup at Sendoh. "I'm not going to be a clown just to treat my eyes. I have my dignity."

"General Kogure and Vice General Youhei, may I ask for you to leave the room for a while?" Sendoh politely ushered the two generals out and closed the door. He then softly hugged Hanamchi (who was still naked) and whispered into his ears.

"When I heard that your eyes were injured, do you know how anxious I was? I want nothing bad to fall on you and yet because of my rough actions, I caused your blindness. I thought if I have to dig out my eyes just for you to see again, I will do it without any hesitation."

"Aki…"

"Shh, just listen to me and feel the rhythm of my heart that beats painfully as I hold the injured you in my arms. This Kimono has special meanings to the Shoyo King, if you wear it, there is a higher chance of him lending you the _Gogyoku. _Won't you wear it, Hana?" Sendoh pressed the red head closer to his chest. Hesitantly, Hanamichi wrapped his arms around Sendoh and buried his face into the taller prince's chest.

"So the King has a weird hobby like this too," he mumbled.

"He doted you a lot and designed it especially for you…" Sendoh sighed softly. "A long time ago."

"What did you say? I didn't catch it," Hanamichi pulled away from Sendoh. He was too busy listening to Sendoh's heart beat to hear what Sendoh had last whispered.

"Nothing. I'm just saying we have to hurry if not we'll be late," picking the clothes from the floor, Sendoh put on the Kimono for Hanamichi before combing Hanamichi's brilliant red hair back, plaiting two small plaits starting from his ears and then tying them into a half pony-tail. As a final touch, he stuck a small five-petal flower that looked almost like a sakura flower in the ponytail.

When Hanamichi stepped out of the room, his generals were stunned by his beauty. If the headstrong Prince had known that his generals were using the word "beauty", he would have killed them for sure. But indeed, beauty was the appropriate word. The silky black Kimono fell nicely against his healthy supple skin, one could almost see the well-defined muscles underneath the cloth. The thin streaks formed small delicate patterns, a colour same as his hair. And it was this touch of red that resonated with the vibrancy of his hair. Not only did this Kimono not make Hanamichi look like a girl, it brought out the balance between the innocence of a boy and the strength of a man in him.

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**A/N:** YES, this is part A… I will do up part B when my term paper is handed in this week. I didn't want to drag this since I've completed about half of the chapter, so I thought I will post it up first.


	18. Arc II: Chapter 4B

**Arc II: Hana Maizou – Flower Burial (****花葬****)**

_By Hal_

_**Disclaimer:**__ All characters belong to Inoue Takehiko. I do not own them and I won't dare to say the ideas for this novel are purely original. No literature work nowadays is purely original; we all get our inspirations from somewhere._

**A/N:** ermz……………….you can kill me, I guess? O_O Sorry for the super duper long delay!

**sillyme:** thanks for the support all the while. ^^

**NeVerChanged:** Girls? Did I hear girls?? LOL. They think…they might? ._.

**COMPLICATED!!:** Still a long way to go before ending… I guess.

**nertz :** thankies!! Woozhing: Thankies.

**Canine:** Ruhana forever!

**Lack_Honesty:** Sendoh!! Yay! As for Rukawa, we are going to switch to his story soon…I hope.

**Choco_Capri:** The second half is here. It didn't go by the air mail, it went by surface shipping so yar, it took 2 months. –gets bricked-

**Mikage Resha:** Sendoh is so gentle. I love how he pampers Hana.

**RuHana-Lover4Ever: **SenHana is cute ne!

**Chapter 4B: A Night Visit - B**

"Shall we make our move to the palace now, Prince Sakuragi?" Sendoh said with an unusually formal tone.

"Ok, let's go, people," with that, Hanamichi stepped out of the inn and Kogure led him into the carriage with Sendoh. The rest of the Generals mounted their horses and the group made their way to the heart of the Shogyoku, the Jade Palace.

"Are you nervous?" Sendoh asked Hanamichi, without turning his head to look at the red hair boy.

"N…no, I… I'm not nervous," Hanamichi stuttered.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure your eyes regain their sight, no matter what," Sendoh grabbed the shaking hand and gave it a squeeze.

"O…ok," Hanamichi felt a warm flow surge to his heart and was suddenly a lot calmer. He rested his head on Sendoh's shoulder but when he realized how "un-manly" it was, his face burnt again and quickly sat straight up. Withdrawing his hand from Sendoh's, he tried to make himself appear normal.

Sendoh was in deep thoughts, so he did not notice Hanamichi's flustered actions. Feeling relieved at first, Hanamichi then began to wish that Sendoh would hold his hand again. Sensing no movement from the other Prince and too embarrassed to do it himself, Hanamichi secretly cursed Sendoh in his heart throughout the journey.

"Hana," Sendoh finally spoke and turned to look at Hanamichi. He was shocked to find Hanamichi's brows knitted on his red face and mumbling to himself. He held the boy's shoulders and asked, "Hana, are you ok? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Yes, I'm ok!" Hanamichi replied loudly and shrugged himself out of Sendoh's reach. His face turned redder at the thought that Sendoh could have heard his mumblings. "Are we there yet?"

"Ah yes, we've reached, come on," Sendoh lifted Hanamichi's arm and was about to help the blind Prince down the carriage. Hanamichi shook off Sendoh's help, with a slight pout, and got down himself.

A palace servant guided them to the main hall where they waited for the King. Hanamichi had his head bowed, the nervousness swelled in his body as the time passed, his hands were cold and sweat trickled down his back. This would be the first time since he arrived in this world that he would be meeting people of higher authorities, not to mention the fact that he needed their favour. Soon, at the announcement of a strong voice, the King of Shoyo arrived together with the King of Kainan.

"Welcome to Shoyo, Prince Sendoh, Prince Sakuragi and your generals," a gentle voice rang from somewhere in front and above them. The King sat on his throne at the center of the platform at the top of a short flight of stairs. King of Kainan was sitting at a smaller throne beside him drinking a glass of wine, as if he was unconcerned with the situation.

"Thank you, King Fujima. I didn't know that King Maki would be here too. Allow me to pay my respect to the elders, King Fujima and King Maki," Sendoh's lips curled into a smile and bowed graciously.

"Prince Sakuragi, won't you pay respect to the Kings too?" Sendoh placed a palm on Hanamichi's back and applied a slight force.

Taking the hint, Hanamichi took a small rigid bow.

"I am told that Prince Sakuragi was blinded in an accident, but I am not aware that he injured his vocal cords too," King Maki said with smirk as he twirled the wine glass in his hand. "Or… was he born dumb? Pun intended."

"Hey OLD MAN!" Before anyone could react, Hanamichi raised up his head, his red hair seemingly in flames, and pointed his finger at the direction the voice was from. His eyes, though seeing blanks in front of him, tried to glare at person who had just scolded him dumb. "No one insults the Tensai! I don't care if you are a King, is your thousand-year-old skin itching for a beating? Come down here and fight me then!"

"You!" King Maki was about to jump up from his seat when King Fujima stopped him.

"Now, King Maki, calm down. I don't want fighting in my court." King Fujima then leaned over and spoke in a soft tone, "Shinichi… I need to talk to you in private for a while."

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," King Fujima stood up. "I'm afraid I need to attend to something for a moment, please do take a seat in the mean while. My men will bring in some refreshments in a moment."

With that, he gracefully walked out of the room and King Maki followed. When they reached another smaller hall, the young King Fujima turned to look at the older King Maki with confusion in his doe eyes.

"You felt that too, didn't you? You felt it here…and here, like it's a tug," Fujima asked as he pointed to his heart and head.

"Yes, I did," Maki sighed as he pulled Fujima into an embrace. "I don't like this feeling. It is as if I have forgotten someone important. That Prince Sakuragi…that boy…"

"His hair is red…like blood. Those eyes and his face… and that Kimono is so beautiful on him. I must have seen it somewhere before, the design is as if specially made just for him. I know this is the first time I am seeing him but it is like I had known him before. Like…like…" Fujima rubbed his cheek against Maki's neck.

"Like in a dream," Maki continued for him.

"In a dream…" Fujima repeated softly. Removing himself from Maki's embrace, Fujima made up his mind. "Ok. I'll use Gogyoku. Maki, I can sense a strong current of power running through that boy, but it seems like this power is behind a barricade. He is a wild and strong beast chained, can you…can you use your _Ryuu no Gan(_竜の眼, literal meaning: Dragon's Eye)…?"

"Don't worry, I will help this cute boy. I want to see his potential too," Maki patted Fujima's shoulder.

"If you held no hostility against him, why did you provoke him just now? That was not like you," Fujima questioned.

"The tug I felt made me want to see him agitated, like an angry little kitten. Hehehe."

"Hmph!" Maki's low chuckles irritated Fujima and he turned his back towards the tanned Maki.

"Now, are you jealous that I called him cute?" Maki spun Fujima around and gave him a peck on the nose before whispering into his ears. "I only have eyes for you, my dear."

"Haha, ok ok! Stop talking into my ears, your breathes are tickling me. Let's go then," Fujima tidied his clothes and prepared to return to the main hall.

In the main hall, Hanamichi was hissing at his friends, anger adding on to his nervous.

"Don't worry, Hana," Sendoh calmly drank his tea and took a bite into the sweet cake, his eyes closing to slits in enjoyment."We have succeeded."


End file.
